Desert Feathers
by Seadrance
Summary: Slight AU. She's a Healer. He's got the one thing she can't cure. Or can she? 'I don't trust anyone, not even you...' 'So don't trust me, trust yourself...' GaaraOC. Crappy summary.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: _I think it's stupid to have to do this at all, let alone every chapter, because if I owned Naruto, the plot would be a lot more random and Sasuke wouldn't be running off to a sick pervert who has a very scewed sense of fashion... I think it's safe to say I'm not making any money from this, and if I was, then I'd be sending my own work to a publisher or trying to buy Naruto from the author rather than sitting here typing this shitty disclaimer. Whew. _**

**_Oh, and that counts for all the chapters..._  
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**Hello! This is my first Naruto fanfic, and bear with me, the characters will be OOC. I'm hoping that my OC isn't too much of a Mary-sue, I have a bit of a problem there, like most people sweatdrop.**

**Here are the pairings ppl, if you don't like, don't read. Kay?  
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**ShikaIno**

**SasuSaku**

**NaruHina**

**NejiTen**

**GaaraOC**

**The first... few chappies (not sure how many) will be short, and they skip through time a bit, but bear with me, but they're mainly to show my OC's past and things like that. The main story will be set post time-skip, but is AU from the 109th episode (the one where Sasuke leaves), in my version (due to death threats from my friend and a great affection for SasuSaku) Sakura convinced Sasuke to stay... I may write a oneshot if it's requested...**

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**Happy reading!**

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"Oi, you!" 

The fiery blonde kunoichi looked up from her training, wiping sweat from her forehead and cheeks with the equally sweaty back of her hand. She was spending her only free day of the week training. Usually, she'd be out on the battlefield, her hands and body coated in blood and sweat, but not today. No, today she had a free day, they each had one free day in which to replenish themselves, pray, or, as she was doing, train. The Kyuubi was getting ever closer to Konoha, and, as an ally to the village, she was expected to help out.

They had been trying to force the Kyuubi back for several weeks now, they were only managing to annoy it though, and for the past three weeks it had disappeared to recuperate from the damage that had been done and the chakra that had been lost. While they could do little, even with the help of all the Shinobi in most of the Five Great Countries, they had managed to slow its progress. Many Shinobi had been lost in the, admittedly, brief confrontation, but they had managed to place a few minor seals on it, ones that prevented it from using the full potential of its power.

She was a small girl, only just eighteen. Her mother was small too, and her father was a little on the short side, so it was to be expected that she was small. Though, as most who opposed her knew, size was no guarantee of power. She fought with vigour and amazingly powerful ninjutsu, especially over long distance, as was her specialty. A direct hit from her attacks could kill lesser ninja, even a few at the jounin level had been taken down by her. Her glittering blue eyes were always filled with strength and courage. She was reckless when it came to her own life, but was a meticulous planner when other's lives were on the line.

The man jogging towards her was dressed in the chuunin uniform, while she wore her jounin one. His face was covered with the messenger mask, and his dark hair was held back, out of the way.

"Yes?" she panted, tossing her sweat soaked hair out of her eyes irritably, it was at the stage where it was too short too keep back and long enough to get in the way.

"Are you Ayame Hikari?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, eyeing him warily.

"Your family sent a message from Suna. Here…" he replied, passing her a

"Thanks," she smiled, "Can you take them a reply?"

"I was told to wait, they also gave me a scroll, a brush and some ink," he replied.

She broke the family seal on the scroll and opened it. She was ecstatic to finally have word from her family, the last letter she'd received had been about a week ago, telling her that her aunt, Kumi, was getting married. Kumi was only twenty, barely two years older than Ayame. Ayame and Kumi had been close friends since before either of them could clearly remember, more like sisters than aunt and niece. When they were young girls, talking about what kind of family they wanted when they were older, Kumi had asked Ayame to be her Maid of Honour when she got married. She had reminded Ayame of this promise in the letter she'd received the previous week, and Kumi and her fiancé were postponing the wedding until Ayame was able to come home for it.

The was filled with family updates, changes in Suna and meaningless drabble about various things, but what really made Ayame laugh for joy and almost want to hug the startled messenger, was the news of her younger sister entering the world the previous day, the ninth of October. And also the request that she, Ayame, name her little sister.

Ayame smiled and tucked the letter away, taking the offered scroll and ink from the messenger. She wrote a reply, keeping her hand steady as much as she could (she had shaky hands). She hesitated a moment before unclipping the necklace at her own throat. Something told her that her new little sister would appreciate something from her Nee-chan.

She used a quick jutsu, her family's invention, one that concealed a small compartment in the paper. She slipped the necklace in and sealed it again, leaving no trace of it. However, she added a small postscript, one that her family alone would understand. The necklace was beyond value to her family and she would not allow it to be stolen.

After a moment she sealed the scroll and handed it to the messenger, who bowed quickly and left. She then turned back to her training, delivering kicks and punches in a flurry of movement. She was soon interrupted again, this time by a sweat-soaked Sand-nin.

"Ayame! It's reached Kohoha!" she panted, eyes desparate, "We need you!"

Blue eyes hardened and she paused only for a second to wrench her kunai from the tree to her left.

'Be safe, Rini-chan,' she thought, slashing the kunai across her palm, letting the blood trickle through her loosely splayed fingers, 'I'll protect you with my very soul… I promise…'

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**It's short, I said it would be, so deal with it! Haha**

**Anyway, please review! Flames will be used to burn Lyla and possibly the school... I may add Orochimaru, and rambles off a list of characters and people**

**You don't have to do a long review, just a PU (please update) is okay, or a G (good), B (bad), VG (very good), or VB (no, not Victoria Bitter, very bad) will do.**

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	2. Of Dreams and Lies

**Okay, very short chappie, but I'm doing a double update this time, so meh.**

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"Mother! Father!" a blue haired girl yelled, pelting across the yard.

She was about four, her small, clumsy hands held a toy kunai, the shiny plastic glinted in the late afternoon light. She wore a huge grin as she ran towards her relaxing and laughing parents. The blue-haired woman looked over at her curiously, while the smiling blonde man opened his arms for his small daughter. The girl flung herself into his arms, giggling happily, her toy still clutched in her hands. Her mother smiled happily and ruffled the four-year-olds short blue hair.

"What is it, Rin-chan?" she asked warmly.

"Look!" Rini held out the kunai. "I'm gonna be a kunoichi! And I'm gonna be the best Sand-nin ever! Even Nee-san will be proud!"

Her parents exchanged an uneasy look, but the small blue-haired girl didn't notice, she was too busy fighting an invisible enemy. Her mock blows were clumsy and once or twice she almost overbalanced as she lunged forwards, but it didn't dull the look of joy in her blue eyes.

"I'm sure you will, Rin-chan," her mother replied after a while, subtly crossing her fingers.

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**You know the drill!**

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	3. Of the First Encounter

**Hello, sorry for this chapter being so short, but they will be getting longer soon.**

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"D-don't come near us, bakemono!" 

A five-and-a-half-year-old Rini watched silently, hidden by the wall, as the village children backed away from a small boy. His blue-green eyes widened sorrowfully as they backed away, hatred and fear dancing in their eyes. The much loved teddy in his arms contorted as he clutched it tight to his chest. Crimson hair spilled around his face, hiding his eyes.

"Go away, demon!" a small girl yelled, turning to run.

The boy tipped his head up. With the darkened eyes revealed, Rini could see the confusion, pain and hatred in the gaze. He lifted a pale hand, causing sand to leapt up around him, shooting out to wrap around the fleeing children. Rini held back a startled gasp, he hadn't even formed seals. The children held captive by the sand screamed in fear, their eyes wide with terror. His eyes hardened and he clenched his fist. The sand constricted, crushing the arms and legs of the group. They screamed in pain.

Rini stumbled forwards, terrified but unable to run. She watched in horror as blood leaked across the ground, pooling around the group. Their screams died and turned into sobs and whimpers. The boy lifted his hand again. The blood soaked sand coursed forward, wrapping around their waists and chests.

'I'm gonna be a kunoichi,' Rini thought shakily, 'I can't be scared if I'm gonna be a kunoichi.'

Her body trembled as she fought to keep the rising fear down. She tried to stay in that spot, but her feet moved of their own accord, forcing her backwards. Rini felt as if someone were controlling her body, pulling her back from the boy. Suddenly, she fell backwards, her foot had slipped in the sand. The sound made the boy jerk his head over at her, his eyes narrowed as they registered the fear in hers.

The sand binding the other children loosened and those who had broken or crushed arms ran away, screaming as each step jarred their abused bones. Those with damaged legs tried to drag themselves away. The boy noticed this and snapped his head back around, dragging those who were not too far away back towards him, their terrified screams echoing across the otherwise empty yard.

The red-headed boy walked towards her, sand swirling towards her. Rini shut her eyes and waited for the crushing pressure of the sand to encase her. She felt the tiny grains surging across her skin and clothes like water, it tightened its grip slightly, just enough to change her breathing pattern, but the painful, crushing blow never came.

She opened her wide blue eyes cautiously and saw the boy standing over her, his eyes wide in confusion. She couldn't help but think that the large eyes were pretty, such a pretty colour, and the setting sun stained his hair with orange and golden yellow.

Why was he not hurting her, like he had the other children?

She looked up, now more curious and confused than scared. His eyes hardened as he clenched his fist, like he had to crush the other children's arms and legs. But the sand didn't move. Rini looked at the reddish mass now wrapped firmly around her body. Then up at the boy. He looked distressed. His eyes narrowed a fraction, and Rini could sense the immense chakra he was pumping into the sand, trying to get it to crush her. But as he clenched his fist again, the sand shuddered and pulled back, rather than crushing her.

He opened his mouth to speak to her, but was interrupted.

"Gaara-sama!" A man ran towards the boy, honey-brown hair flying back as he pelted across the yard. "Stop!"

'Gaara-sama?' Rini thought in surprise, 'He's the Kazekage's son?'

"They called me 'bakemono' again!" his large, formerly murderous, green-blue eyes were filled with tears.

'But why?' Rini frowned, beginning to walk away, feeling as though she were intruding on a private scene if she stayed. 'He's got that weird thing with the sand… but that could be a Kekkei Genkai.'

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**You've read, now please review! **

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	4. Of Discoveries and Friends

**Hello again! Haha, this chapter is, hopefully, a bit longer than the last, hope you enjoy.**

**Only one warning: Angsty seven-year-old alert**

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"I HATE YOU!" Rini screamed, angry tears splattering down her slightly sunburnt cheeks. "I HATE YOU!"

"Rin-cha-." Her mother tried to reason with her.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!" Rini ignored the hurt look in her parent's eyes. "IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ALWAYS 'Ayame-chan this' AND 'Ayame-chan that'. I HATE YOU AND I HATE HER! I WISH YOU'D JUST DIE! THEN YOU'D BE WITH YOUR PRECIOUS 'Ayame-chan'! IT'S NOT FAIR! I HATE YOU!"

The blue-haired seven-year-old stormed out of the room, her long hair swirling angrily behind her. Her usually adoring and innocent blue eyes were tainted with rage and hurt. They'd lied. They never intended to let her become a kunoichi, all because her stupid sister died. It was always 'Oh, Ayame-chan used to make the most delicious pancakes' or something along those lines. Rini hated it, her sister was always brought up at least once every day, usually more.

When she was younger, the small girl had listened avidly to the tales of the beautiful, talented, fiery kunoichi, dreaming that maybe one day, she'd be a legend told to children all across the Five Nations. She'd be famous for killing the Kyuubi, she decided, that way, that horrible demon would be gone, and Ayame could rest peacefully.

Not now. Now she wanted to kill that damn kitsune so that she could be better than her sister, and finally her parents would see that she, Rini, was the better shinobi. She doubted that half the things her parents had told her that her sister had done were true. She never got any praise for anything she could do, not even when she first used her Feather Bow Jutsu the previous year. Her parents had merely smiled sadly and commented that Ayame had learned that jutsu at around the same age. While her parents didn't want her becoming a kunoichi, they did want her to learn to use her Kekkei Genkai.

She was walking blindly towards the sparring/training grounds, her feet leading her there after years of eagerly watching others training through the fence, and dreaming of the day she'd join them. Now she gazed bitterly at the only one inside the fence, a blonde girl, a few years older than she, punching rapidly at the stump set up for that purpose. She'd never feel the battered wood beneath her knuckles or shins. She'd never work herself into an exhaustion so bad that her sensei would have to carry her home. She'd never arrive home, weary and sweat soaked, but happy with her progress, or disappointed at her failure. She'd never feel the companionship and closeness of a Genin team.

She, for the first time, walked through the hot, wooden gate-way, her feet, which were still bare, searing with ever step through the burning sand. She ignored it and walked up to a free stump, her blood pumping hotly through her veins as she struck it in the pattern she'd seen the Genin use so often when they were training. She'd memorised and practiced that same pattern a thousand times, mimic their movements until they were perfectly matched, even the timing was the same.

The air was filled with the sound of flesh striking wood, the other girl had fallen into the same pattern, so their punches landed at the same moment. Fury and hurt rose like a beast in Rini's chest, snapping free of the chains she kept them bound with. Her punches grew stronger, and she could feel the skin of her knuckles burning with every blow, but she didn't care, all that mattered was damaging the stump as much as possible. With those bonds released, Rini could feel every ounce of her chakra burning through her. She almost moaned in ecstasy as the raw power flowed through her veins, it was beautiful and savage at the same time. Raw, unadulterated power.

She lunged one final time at the stump, focusing her chakra on that one point as her fist connected. There was a loud **_crack!_** and the stump split in a perfect, vertical line either side of where her fist had struck.

"Woah," the other girl looked over in surprise, "How'd you do that?"

"I-I just pushed my chakra into my fist, and just before it hit, I centred it there," Rini panted back, struggling to remember.

"You taijutsu sucks, but your chakra is pretty impressive, for an academy kid," the blonde smirked.

"I'm not in the academy," Rini replied, absently examining her bleeding knuckles.

"Oh," the girl leaned against the stump she'd been abusing. "My name's Temari, what's yours?"

"Rini."

Rini looked over at the blonde, looking at her properly for the first time. She was tall, at least a foot taller than Rini, and her sandy blonde hair was held back in four, spiky pigtails. She had dark black-blue eyes, and a normal skin tone (for a Suna resident). A large fan was leaning against a fence post a little way off.

"Why aren't you in the academy?" Temari asked curiously, walking over, "Most kids are by now."

"That's none of your business," Rini snapped angrily, then her eyes widened and she lowered them. "I'm sorry, I'm not in a good mood right now, and I tend to lash out when someone does manage to annoy me to this degree."

"It's okay, I'm used to it," Temari offered a slightly fake looking smile as she spoke.

Rini cocked her head questioningly.

"Never mind." There was no doubt that that smile was fake. "You should really get someone to look at this." Temari pointed to Rini's bloody and bruised hand, which was held gently in her own slightly calloused one.

"It's okay, I'd rather keep it," Rini took her hand back, watching the blood bubble between her knuckles with a sick fascination as she flexed it.

"Well, at least put some anti-infection salve on it," Temari advised.

"I will, thanks," Rini smiled, tilting her head in a cute manner, "Are you a Genin?"

"Yep!" Temari grinned proudly, "But I get the forehead protector tomorrow."

"That's great!" Rini kept the jealous twinge in her stomach from showing on her face as she spoke, and hoped that Temari wouldn't notice. "Ano, Temari-san?"

"Hai?" Temari looked at her curiously.

"I know that we hardly know each other, and we're different ages and all," Rini let her hand fall to her side again, "But, can we be friends?"

"On one condition," Rini looked up as the blonde spoke, "Drop the 'san' thing, it makes me feel old."

"Hai, Tema-chan," Rini grinned.

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**You know the drill!**

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	5. Of New Hope and Icecream

**Okay, hate to say it, but school's started again... I hate school... **

**Anyway, moving along. Hope you like this chapter!**

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"Kaa-san?" Rini's soft voice asked through the door.

It was a few weeks after Rini had met Temari, and despite the age difference, the two had become best friends. Rini had taken up dancing, and quickly found, though she didn't tell her parents, that when she danced, she could feel her chakra growing. She seemed to have a natural talent for both dancing and moulding her chakra, and so, had come up with a compromise for not being allowed to become a kunoichi.

After about a week Rini had come to terms with the fact that, whether she liked it or not, she wasn't going to become a kunoichi.

"Hai, Rin-chan?" Her mother, Daija, replied, opening her bedroom door with a smile.

"Ano," Rini hesitated, "I was wondering, I know you don't want me to become a kunoichi." Her mother tensed at those words. "But could I, maybe, instead, become a medic?"

Hesitant grey-blue eyes met hopeful sapphire orbs. After a moment her mother sighed and stepped out of the room. Rini then followed her into the living room, where her father was sitting, apparently staring at a sparrow. Well, he was staring at the sparrow, but that wasn't all he was doing, he was also talking to it, his eyes were glazed a blue-white. Upon both sensing and hearing his family enter the room he broke the connection, his eyes returning to their original, startling blue. He blinked several times, looking slightly disoriented, as to communicate with unfamiliar birds you had to first form a connection, that took quite a bit of concentration and, for lack of a better term, meditation.

"Is something wrong?" he asked in concern, the sparrow fluttering off into the sky.

"Rini-chan?" Daija turned to her petit daughter, "Why don't you go play with Temari for a while?"

"Okay, Kaa-san," Rini smiled, hugging her mother, "I was supposed to meet her soon anyway."

Rini half hugged her father and dashed through the door, pausing only to wave goodbye, then left. She sprinted across the sand, her feet skimming the uneven, ever-shifting surface as she showed off her rather impressive speed. Rini had always been fast. Soon she reached the ice-cream shop where she was supposed to meet the blonde Genin, she was early, but that didn't matter, Temari was usually just a little early as well. However, the blonde wasn't there yet, so Rini rummaged in her dusty jeans for the money she knew was there. She then purchased an ice-cream, cookies and cream, her favourite. She was actually slightly obsessed with the flavour, and was willing to literally fight off anyone who tried to take some of the precious, icy, sweetness.

She sat under one of the large umbrella-like things that shaded the seats, her left hand supporting her as she lowered herself into one of the seats, her other hand clutched the wafer cone. Rini leant back, her small, pink tongue darting past her lips every few seconds to catch the already melting ice-cream. It didn't take Temari long to show up, unfortunately, she'd been forced to drag her brother, Kankuro along as well. Rini wasn't overly fond of the puppeteer, who tended to tease her, though in a friendly manner. Rini knew they were Gaara-sama's siblings, but had never seen the three together, and was beginning to wonder why. Temari had often dismissed her questions with an answer of 'Oh, he's training' or 'he wasn't feeling well' or, on occasion, 'we had a bit of a fight'.

"Hey Chibi-chan," Kankuro greeted, grinning at her instantly peeved look.

"Hello," she replied, "Pinocchio."

"Actually, Pinocchio wasn't a puppeteer," Kankuro pointed out, "He was a puppet."

Rini glared and stuck out her tongue at the annoying puppeteer. "Oh shut up."

"Hey, Rini," Temari interrupted her brother's retort, "It's your birthday soon, right?"

"Hai," Rini tipped her head to the side with a cute grin, "One week. Don't even think about it, Kankuro."

The boy pouted but took his hand away from the ice-cream cone he'd been about to snatch away. Rini sighed and returned her attention to her blonde friend, who was rolling her eyes and handing Kankuro some money to by them ice-creams.

"What flavour?" he asked absently, examining the menu.

"Boysenberry," Temari replied, sitting lazily in one of the three free chairs at the table.

"Okay," he was off.

"Does your family celebrate your birthdays?" Temari asked, looking sincerely interested.

"Well," Rini hesitated, "Sort of. Usually we go to Konoha for a while, but this year we have to stay here."

"Why?"

"This year I get my first Called bird!"

"Called bird?"

"When a Hikari turns eight they-," she broke off, looking into the distance, "Isn't that your brother?"

Temari tensed slightly and turned to see her little brother walking calmly towards them, "Yes, it is… I wonder what he's doing here? He was supposed to be training today…"

"Here's your ice-cream, Temari," Kankuro handed his older sister the ice-cream and sat down, licking at his own, chocolate, ice-cream.

"Temari, Kankuro," a cold, toneless voice spoke.

Rini looked at the crimson haired boy she'd seen not two years ago. He'd changed. The cute, innocent eyes were gone, replaced with cold, hate-filled orbs. His hair, which had once reminded her of a sunset, now looked more like blood. His skin was lighter than before, and he had the 'Ai' kanji tattooed to his forehead. He also carried a large gourd on his back. He noticed her gaze and snapped his eyes to hers, glaring.

"H-hai, Gaara?" Temari asked nervously.

"Father wants you," he replied coldly, already walking away.

'What a weird way to talk to your siblings,' Rini thought, finishing her ice-cream and waving good-bye to Temari and Kankuro, who had leapt up to follow their younger brother, 'Oh well, maybe they had an argument…'

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**Please review**

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	6. Of A New Friend and A Pride Issue

**Hello! I won't take up too much time, I just want to thank all my reviewers! If you have a request for me to add to this, or a suggestion, tell me in a review or PM, kay?**

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Every Hikari child 'Called' a bird on their eighth birthday, but were given their first bird, usually a sparrow, dove or something equally easy to handle, on their sixth birthday. Rini only had to wait about ten minutes until the sun rose and her birthday came, and she had been wondering about what her first 'Called' bird would be. She often dreamed of a beautiful snowy owl, the kind that she'd seen in books, flying to her and landing on her wrist, or maybe a nightingale, singing in its sweet voice, or even a hawk, watching over her from the skies, protective and fierce. But she knew that whatever bird chose her, she'd train with it constantly, and soon, they'd be so in sync that they didn't even really have to concentrate on the link to understand each other.

She felt the strange tugging sensation that had been plaguing her since midnight and kept her from sleeping grow stronger. She couldn't ignore it any longer, it was too strong, not forcing her, more like it was coaxing her, though it left no doubt that it was to be obeyed. She rose from her position on her bed and padded through the house, her eyes unfocused and distant. She didn't stumble though, and her feet found safe places to rest every time she took a step.

She walked through the yard of her family's home, it was larger than most, though still fairly small, especially compared to her white-eyed 'cousins'' grounds. After about an hour of semiconscious walking through the town, Rini came to a rocky area. It was something of a crater, though it had been carved out by years of sandstorms and erosion. Rini felt her body settle under an overhang and she stopped moving completely. The only signs of life in her were the barely noticeable rise and fall of her chest, and, rare, blinking.

The hours passed gradually, though the girl sitting in the shade of the overhang didn't seem to notice the heat that came with the approaching noon. Her body remained sweat and burn free, though the sun now beat down on her fiercely. She did not need water or food, not in her current state. For a moment, if you stared without blinking for long enough, you could almost see the shimmering mirage of a woman, embracing the child from behind, beautiful white wings curving out of her shoulders. But when you blinked, she was gone.

On the horizon a speck had been growing gradually bigger, the shape and details becoming more detailed. When the colour and size of the eyes could be seen, Rini stood, her arm outstretched, her eyes glazed blue-white, a small smile curving chapped, pink lips.

"Welcome, Hoshiko," she whispered as the glaze began to fade.

'**Now don't go getting a big head, just because I chose you,**' the pretty bird snapped back, preening her glossy feathers. '**You have a lot to learn, Kage no Rini…**'

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**Hoshiko has an attitude problem, as you've noticed. She's a bit proud and more than a bit protective of her master/mistress. Want to have a guess at what she is/suggest something. I already have planned what she's going to be, but if I get a better suggestion then I'll use it.**

**Well, please review, as those encourage me to update!**

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**Oh, and also, I'm open for suggestions/requests on this fic. On another, distantly related note, the next chapter will be the longest so far.**


	7. Of Goodbyes, Crying and Crushes

**Hello, sorry if chapter six wasn't working, it's partially why i put this up so soon. I hope they both start working soon!**

**Enjoy!**

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"WHAT!?" Temari yelled is shock. "Why?" 

"She's the best there is, apart from Tsunade-sama," Rini replied miserably, "And they want me to learn from the best."

"But… but…" Temari's eyes were filled with distress. "I don't want you to leave Suna!"

"I don't want to leave either," Rini kicked at a stone, sending it skidding across the sand, "But if I'm ever gonna be a medic-nin I have to leave… and… it's the closest thing to a kunoichi I can get."

"But," Temari protested desperately, "Please don't go! You're the only one who's not too scared to be my friend!"

"Scared?" Rini frowned in confusion. "Why scared?"

"They're not scared of me…" Temari replied bitterly, "They're scared of Gaara…"

"But…" Rini still looked confused, "Why?"

"The other kids call him 'bakemono' and 'demon' for a reason, Rini," Temari met her eyes, and Rini could see the fear and anger burning there. "You know Shukaku, right?"

"H-hai," Rini replied slowly, "The demon racoon?"

"Yes," Temari's eyes darkened, "Father wanted a weapon, so he ordered Chiyo to seal Shukaku inside his unborn child. Gaara killed Mother when he was born, she died cursing this village and everyone in it… She never wanted Gaara to be born, but Father insisted. At first, Gaara was treated like a prince, he always got everything he could ever want, toys, games, and so on. But a few years ago, Father realised that he was dangerous to the village, and ordered Yashamaru, our uncle, to kill him. Yashamaru failed, and Gaara killed him. After that, he wasn't the same. Before, he would always come to me or Kankuro, and ask us to pick him up, or hug him, he was sweet and innocent. But that incident changed him, he became cold, and cruel. He'd kill anyone, even his own family, without blinking twice."

Rini listened quietly to Temari's story. Now everything fit. Why everyone was so scared. How he controlled the sand without seals. Why he was never with Temari and Kankuro. Why Temari never really talked about her family. But one thing it didn't explain was, why hadn't he crushed her that time? If he really was a heartless demon, why hadn't he killed her? He'd had the perfect chance, but he hadn't done it…

Rini was broken from her thoughts by Temari, who had grabbed both her hands and smiled sadly down at her.

"Then, at least let's do something together before you go," the blonde kunoichi said sadly.

"Sounds like a good idea," Rini agreed, "But I'll have to ask my parents first."

"Okay, where will I meet you?" Temari asked.

"I don't have to go anywhere," Rini smirked a little. '_Hoshiko?_'

'**What is it now, brat?**' even after a few months the beautiful bird and the healer-to-be sill clashed, though more affectionately than before.

'_I'm not a brat,_' Rini replied, annoyed. '_Where are you?_' She knew that Hoshiko had to be close, after all, they couldn't communicate over real distances, the furthest they could manage was about fifty metres.

'**Look up, brat.**' Was the reply.

Rini extended an arm as Temari watched in fascination, the beautiful raptor bird always fascinated the blonde Genin. Hoshiko preened her feathers and tried to look intimidating, her large eyes flashing with intelligence and ferocity far beyond that of an ordinary bird. Temari blinked rapidly for a moment, and a triumphant noise glowed through their connection. Rini tried not to laugh, and settled for a small smile.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Temari laughed, "It's really strange to see you do that."

"I know, it's actually a little disturbing for me to suddenly hear Hoshiko talking," Rini laughed.

'I'm not going to ask again, what do you need?' Hoshiko asked.

'_Could you ask Tou-san and Kaa-san if-,_' she broke off, exactly what did Temari want to do? "Hey, Tema-chan?"

"Mm?"

"What did you want to do?"

"I don't know," Temari shook her head thoughtfully, "Maybe we could train for a little bit, then get some movies to watch… you could probably stay the night too."

"Shouldn't you ask your father too?"

"Nah, I've had permission for this for a while, he said that so long as we don't cause any trouble its fine," Temari shrugged.

Temari had been giving Rini basic lessons in taijutsu and even a little genjutsu. Rini couldn't seem to get a handle on the illusionary techniques, and her taijutsu was rather crappy, but she was slowly getting better. Rini was grateful to her blonde friend, she didn't give up when Rini failed to grasp the technique properly, in fact, she seemed to become more determined to teach her how to do it properly. Temari, one day Rini was sure, would make an excellent sensei.

"That sounds great," Rini grinned, she'd never been anywhere near Temari and Kankuro's house, Temari seemed to want to avoid taking her there. '_Did you understand that?_'

'**Yes. Can I have a boost here?**'

Rini counted for the bird, who readied herself. On the count of three, Rini thrust her arm upwards, sending the glossy-feathered bird soaring into the air. Rini thought a quick thanks before Hoshiko was out of range, then turned to Temari.

"Well, even if I'm not allowed, we may as well head for the training grounds," Rini suggested.

"Sounds reasonable," Temari grinned, "Maybe we could spar, and you can use some of those fancy jutsus your Father's been teaching you, hey?"

"Sounds like a challenge," Rini smirked, when she did get competitive, she really didn't give up until she couldn't stand anymore. "Shall we see if Kankuro wants to come?"

"Ano," Temari hesitated, "Maybe, could it just be us today… I mean, you're leaving, and I know you're friends with Kankuro too… but… could it just be us today?"

"That's okay," Rini nodded, "Anyway; it means I won't have to wait as long to kick your ass into the high heavens!"

Rini laughed at the offended look on Temari's face and bolted, easily outrunning the older girl. Temari managed to keep up, though was a little out of breath by the time they reached the other side of the town, where the training grounds were. Rini, however, had barely changed, her breathing was slightly heavier, but still nothing that would keep her down. Her blue hair, which had been cut a few weeks ago, now reached her mid-neck in a rather messy, slightly layered cut, was windswept and fell around her face in random spikes, though her bangs were slightly shorter, brushing her jaw bone. Temari arrived about a minute after her companion, partly due to the large fan strapped to her back.

"Damn… you're… fast…" Temari panted out.

Rini laughed, "Yeah, fast but weak. My taijutsu would probably bruise a butterfly, and my genjustu could, at best, make a really crappy flower… if I'm lucky…"

"Oh come on," Temari scolded her a little, "You're not that bad… and you haven't been properly trained… I'm certainly not the best person to do that anyway."

"Tema-chan," Rini whacked her across the back of the head, "You're a brilliant sensei… I'm just a horrible student."

Their banter continued long into the afternoon, far past the time when Hoshiko returned to tell Rini that she was allowed to stay the night. It wasn't until Rini saw the position of the sun that the two began their sparring. At first the two used kunai and shuriken, which Rini was proud to say, she was quite adept with. Then they moved on to using taijustsu, in which Temari didn't try too hard, but still managed to win with ease. Finally they came to an all out fight, using all they had to win.

Temari smirked, partly leaning on her fan, as it clicked open a notch, revealing the first moon. She'd just deflected a Feather Bow Jutsu from Rini, and what scared her was, she'd barely been able to do it. Rini's taijutsu and genjutsu might not be the best, but her ninjutsu was strong, it was actually frightening how much power she could pack into one blow, and still be standing easily, not even looking like the attach had scratched her chakra.

"That all you've got?" the Genin asked cockily.

"Hell no," Rini's smirk was becoming a little sadistic, sort of like the one she'd seen on Gaara's lips when he toyed with his victims.

Rini's hands moved through the seals so fast that Temari barely saw them moving, though she could tell from the blue-haired Hikari girl's relaxed pose that she was using her Feather Bow Jutsu again, she'd known it for years, and she'd practiced it every day since she'd first learnt it. She'd truly mastered the technique, and she could pump so much power into each feather that it caused a crater, 1m by 1m, every time one hit the ground.

"Feather Bow Jutsu!"

Rini leapt into the air, using a small burst of controlled chakra in her feet to send her higher. Three feathers appeared in midair, the hard, sharp tips were pointing towards Temari. Rini pulled her right arm back in a motion similar to pulling a bowstring back, and, Temari knew, she was. Though the light was all wrong for Temari to see what her friend was doing, she knew that had she been able to see, she would have seen a heavy looking bow form in her small hands. Made completely of chakra, the bow was as light as, pardon the phrase, a feather.

The feathers shot towards her, all this was done in the two second space between Rini finishing her seals and hitting the ground. Temari grit her teeth and swung her fan, pumping chakra into the wind it generated, trying to stop the feather-arrows in their tracks. She managed it, barely. The arrows weren't normal feathers, they were stronger, sharper, and more deadly. Each hollow quill had a volatile amount of explosive chakra embedded in it, a single, direct hit with killing intent behind it could kill a shinobi, and Temari thanked god that Rini didn't really want to hurt her.

The feathers stabbed themselves into the ground a few metres from the blonde, who had opened her fan further, revealing the second moon. Rini wasn't at all phased by the explosions that followed, sending clouds of sand and dirt spiralling around the two. Temari waved it away with a quick swipe of her fan, while it gave her cover, it also gave her opponent a deadly advantage. And it seemed that Rini had known that, for she was already gone. Temari felt around for the younger girl's chakra, and found it. Temari's eyes widened. The six chakra loaded feathers hadn't even dented the huge supply Rini had. But that wasn't important.

Temari swung the fan again, not bothering to yell the name of her jutsu. A funnel of wind encased the blue-eyed girl, whose eyes were filled with determination and a steely glint. Her body was becoming laced with an array of small cuts, though most were mere scratches as Temari hadn't mastered the technique. Temari almost swore as she lost control of the jutsu, she hadn't had time to really practice it yet, so her control over the jutsu, as well as over the chakra she used in it, was uneven and disjointed. Rini landed gracefully, as was expected from the dancer.

Temari watched cautiously as the blue-haired girl bounced around her in a circle, her hands and feet touching the ground in a different manner each time. Sometimes she landed on just her toes, one hand flat against the sand, other times her right heel and left toes would land, her heel facing inwards. Her chakra was laced over each spot she landed in. Temari was becoming suspicious. She made to leap out of the circle her friend was forming, but was too late. Rini landed on all fours, her finger and toe tips supporting her on the sandy surface.

Rini lifted her hands and moved them rather slowly through the seals. A blaze of chakra shot from her feet, shooting from point to point, connecting them with strong, pulsing chakra. When the circle was complete, and chakra blazed into sight, Rini finished her seals and looked up. Her blue eyes seemed to smirk.

"Final Feather Circle Jutsu!"

Temari's eyes widened, feathers were shooting out from every point she'd touched. She swung the fan again, opening it as far as it would go, unveiling the third moon. Rini didn't look concerned, however, and waited. Most of the feathers faltered and fell to the ground, causing a small crater, about 30cm by 30cm, where each one fell. They were weaker.

"Kuso!" Temari swore as three of the feathers hit her in the back, breaking through her skin and stabbing into her flesh.

Temari bit her lip to keep from yelping. The chakra, which if it missed, blasted craters, blasted through her own chakra stream. Her own chakra tried to force the invading chakra out, but, as it had fused with Temari's own chakra the very second the orders to destroy the foreign energy were released, her chakra attacked itself, destroying both the attacking and the attacked. It was a weak blow, and Rini was now looking drained. Her control on the chakra in that technique was lacking. For which Temari was glad, had that been a mastered technique, she probably would be out of chakra and in a hell of a lot of pain.

"When did you learn that?" Temari had leapt out of range and was eyeing her friend warily.

"A few weeks ago, but it's a fairly hard technique to master, so I'm not too far along," Rini replied, panting slightly. "And it takes a fair bit of chakra."

Temari narrowed her eyes a fraction, calling her chakra into her fan for her strongest jutsu. Rini's eyes widened and she fell into a defensive stance, her own chakra pulsing in her skin and muscles. What was she doing?

Just as Temari screamed the name of her jutsu Rini flung herself into the air, her hands forming several seals. The chakra blossomed in her palms as the hurricane headed towards her. Rini's eyes widened and her jaw tightened. In the split second before the hurricane hit Rini flung four senbon needles at the taller kunoichi. Wait, those weren't senbon needles… they were feathers.

Temari dodged them and Rini was caught in the swirling air. All the chakra that remained, and the other senbon-feathers she'd summoned regressed, returning to its natural flow. Temari was nearly out of chakra now, but she could probably hold the attack for a little while longer. Curious, she checked Rini's chakra level. She gasped. There was so much of it! Though, admittedly, most of it was sealed off from Rini's grasp because her body couldn't handle that much chakra, but even the chakra she did have access to was amazing. It seemed so much larger than when she'd first met the angry seven-year-old in this very place. She drew back and watched her hurricane do it's work.

Rini was trying to escape, throwing more and more of those feather-senbon at the vortex. However, she was weakening fast due to how much chakra she packed into each feather. Her eyes were filled with anger, though it seemed to be directed at herself. She threw her final four feathers and sighed, letting the air toss her roughly about. Temari held the jutsu for as long as she could, then released it, dropping a cut and bruised Rini in its wake.

"Give up yet?" Temari asked, drawing shallow breaths in and leaning against her now closed fan.

"I'd rather not be paralysed until morning, so let's call it a tie," Rini replied, staggering to her feet and swaying unsteadily.

"Fine," Temari sighed, she could tell Rini had just enough chakra left to launch one more Feather Bow Jutsu, at least in the supply she had access to.

The two promptly collapsed, both had used up way more chakra than they intended to, what with the weapons and taijutsu round, followed by an all out battle?

The sunlight dappled the tanned skin of the two, spiky, golden hair seemed stained with beautiful orange and red. Rini smiled contentedly, her mind drifting to the cold red-head she'd met only twice. Each meeting had been fleeting, and tarnished by murderous intent or cold glares. But Rini could feel her cheeks heating up at the thought of his eyes, they were cold and blank, or filled with hatred and pain, but they were such a pretty colour. She could remember the way the setting sun had bled colours into the crimson locks, just like it was doing now with his blonde sister.

'Do… do I like him?' Rini asked herself.

'**Yes, you do,**' Hoshiko replied smugly.

'_Shut it feather brain,_' Rini grumbled, '_That wasn't your thought to hear…_'

'**But you didn't close yourself off, so I heard it anyway,**' the flying huntress replied.

'_You could have not commented._'

'**You asked, so I replied.**'

'_Are you going to be this annoying for as long as you live?_'

'**I live as long as you do, so get used to it, brat.**'

'_Oh shove it._'

'**I really ought to tell your parents about that atrocious implication.**'

'_And I really ought to skewer you._'

'**Hmph, that for rabbits and pheasants, not a beautiful hunter like myself,**' the raptor sounded a little miffed.

'_Oh get over yourself._'

However, the conversation, or rather, argument, with her Called bird, had smashed her solid resolve that she, Rini Hikari, was not going to be one of those mushy girls who got a crush on every cute boy she saw. Wait… did she just say Gaara was cute? Oh god.

"We should get going, the movie store will be closing soon," Temari pointed out, snapping Rini from her distressed thoughts.

"Mm," Rini sat up with a wince. That took more effort than it was worth, "Can't we stay here? I'm too tired to move."

"Come on, lazy," Temari laughed, pulling herself to her feet and leaning on her fan.

Rini grumbled something about throwing Temari in a lake and stood, her knees quaked but she managed to stay upright. Hoshiko perched on her shoulder, sharp talons digging gently into her skin. The two made their way slowly through the town, heading for the video store, which, luckily, was open late that night.

Temari and Rini argued for a while over which movies to rent, Temari wanted a horror movie, while Rini wanted a comedy. Finally they decided to get a few of each, despite the fact that they wouldn't get a chance to watch them all that night. Rini insisted that they get _Monty Python and the Holy Grail _out. Temari couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's choice, she hadn't seen it, and it seemed like some crappy religious movie **(A/N: Woah boy, she's in for a shock, ne?)**. Temari forced _Wolf Creek_ into the pile, along with _The Exorcism of Emily Rose _and a particularly violent anime movie based on the show '_Elfen Lied_' **(A/N: I know there's not actually a movie, but I wanted something blood filled.)**. Rini had accepted, on the condition that she was allowed to get _Bats_ and _Cats and Dogs_.

The two then borrowed the movies on Temari's card, and left the store, arguing violently over something utterly irrelevant and stupid. When they reached the large house Temari shared with her brothers and a caretaker or two, the girls kicked off their shoes and entered the house, setting the videos down in the living room, which had a TV, VCR and DVD player set up in it.

Rini, to say the least, was impressed at the expansive, expensive home. It was more like a feudal lord's home, though considering the Kazekage's family lived there, it shouldn't have shocked her too much. She then left to get her things while Temari started dinner. While the blonde wasn't the housewife type, she did love to cook. Kankuro, somehow smelling food from wherever he was in the village, appeared about ten minutes before Rini returned. The puppeteer and the medic-to-be then started a do-not-blink competition.

Kankuro lost several times before Rini finally lost when Gaara, for lack of a better word, teleported in in a swirl of sand. Rini jumped significantly, as he'd appeared not thirty centimetres from her back, unfortunately, that meant that she collided with his jaw. Kankuro and Temari, who had abandoned the soup to watch the latest round, froze as the top of Rini's head bumped (gently) against Gaara's chin. Rini squeaked in shock at the sudden presence, and tipped her head back. Her blue eyes were slightly flustered and wide, while her cheeks felt as if they were on fire as she realised that the crown of her head was resting lightly against Gaara's chest.

"S-sorry, Gaara-sama," she stuttered, fighting down a blush.

He glared and the sand he'd used to teleport himself in swirled around her ankles ominously. Temari stood hesitantly, not wanting to aggravate her brother further. Kankuro watched uneasily, Temari could manage to calm their younger sibling, but Gaara only seemed to get more pissed off when Kankuro tried it. Maybe it was because Temari had been closest to him when they were younger.

"Gaara," Temari spoke timidly, "It was an accident, she didn't mean to hit you like that."

A frosty glare was her reply. The sand was now wrapped around Rini's ankles quite firmly, and Rini was beginning to realise that she was in a weak position currently. She also didn't have Hoshiko there to help her should she get into danger. She took a calming breath, she'd seen what Gaara could do with that sand, and frankly, she had been terrified. But when he'd failed to kill her when he had the chance, that level of fear had dropped to mere uneasiness. That and the fact that she was standing so close to her newfound crush made her do something a little stupid.

"You have pretty eyes," she mumbled, just loud enough for Gaara to hear, though not his siblings.

The pretty eyes widened and the sand shot away from her, whirling viciously around Gaara's fading form. A few seconds later Rini was standing in that same position, her head tipped back, though the support for her head was gone. Her cheeks, which had been flushed a deep pink, were now pale as she realised what she'd just said. Her eyes were wide in shock. Kankuro and Temari guided her to a seat, where she sat, wide eyed and ashen.

"Are you okay?" Temari asked in concern, though obviously relieved her little brother hadn't murdered her best friend.

"Y-yeah," Rini replied, shaking her head to free it of the image of Gaara's eyes, momentarily changed to their childish, pained look again.

"You sure?" Kankuro was uncharacteristically serious and gentle, he obviously knew what it was like to stare death in the face, especially in the form of a certain red-head.

"Hai," Rini managed a smile, still troubled by how her mouth had moved against her will to spit out what she'd always thought, "Just a little shaken, he really needs to be more careful where he appears…"

After that everything was considerably more dulled down, the atmosphere of euphoria and yet sorrow was gone, replaced by an uneasy, forced calm. Temari served dinner and hesitated before leaving the pot on a low heat, so that if Gaara wanted to eat he wanted to. The eldest sibling and her friend were now curled up on the lounge, Rini whimpering and jumping every so often while Temari watched avidly, her eyes never leaving the screen. Kankuro was sprawled lazily over the armchair, his eyes watching the screen. Screams and shouts blared from the TV, and vivid pictures accompanied them. Luckily the movie was nearly over, and it would soon be Rini's turn to choose. It was about a half an hour before the film ended and Rini sprang off the lounge, digging through the movies. Kankuro laughed at her as she nearly slipped on her way there, while Temari threw the remote at his head.

"What are you putting on?" Temari asked curiously, retrieving the remote.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Rini grinned wickedly and held up the DVD.

Temari suppressed a groan and instead asked, "Is that a religious movie?"

Rini looked offended at the thought, but simply smirked and put it in. Not five minutes later they were all howling with laughter, Temari clinging to Rini in a weak attempt to keep herself from falling off the lounge.

"S-swedan… m-moose… subtitles!" Temari giggled incoherently. "L-llamas." **(A/N: For all those who've seen it, you'll understand. Those who haven't, get it out and watch it.)**

"M-migrating coconuts!" Rini gasped between spurts of laughter.

They spent nearly two hours laughing, even after the movie finished, someone would say something connecting to the movie, and set everyone else off again. That was when Temari broke out the sugar products and the three of them proceeded to get sugar high. Slowly they worked their way through the movies, and by the time they got to the anime it was nearly two in the morning. Rini had asked about their father, surely he should have come home and scolded them for being up so late, or early, depending on how you looked at it. Temari had replied that it wasn't uncommon, and that their father had more important things to do then spend time with his children. Rini found herself feeling incredibly sympathetic to her friends.

Kankuro decided to go to bed before he passed out from exhaustion, it seemed his sugar high wasn't lasting as long as Temari's and Rini's, who were practically bouncing off the walls. The movie was bloody and violent, often causing both girls to flinch as a variety of internal organs splattered across the ground, or someone had their head ripped off, or exploded in a spray of blood. By the end of the movie Temari's sugar rush had run out, and she and Rini retired to the bedroom. Rini curled up on the bed and looked up at the waning moon.

"Hey… Temari?" Rini asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Mm?" Temari sounded as if she were almost completely immersed in dreams and sleep.

"I think I have a crush," Rini sighed, she'd much rather tell Temari, after all, it would soon pass, she was moving.

Temari perked up, "Who?"

Rini squirmed slightly, a pale blush rising in her cheeks, "Your brother."

"WHAT?!" Temari screeched, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide.

"SHUT UP TEMARI!" Kankuro's pissed off voice screamed through the wall.

Temari spoke again, quieter this time, "K-kankuro?"

"What?" Rini's eyes were wide, "No!"

"But then…" Temari's eyes widened even further, to the point at which Rini was becoming concerned that her eyes may actually pop out. "Oh Rin, no…"

Rini rolled onto her stomach, frowning, "What?"

"Rin," Temari sighed sadly, "Please, for your own sake, get over it. Quick."

"I'm moving anyway, so it won't matter soon," Rini replied eyes lowering.

"W-what? I thought that you'd be here for at least another few months…" Temari had a look of betrayal in her eyes. "When?"

"The day after tomorrow…"

"But… you must have known for a while then," Temari's eyes echoed the hurt in her tone.

"N-not really," Rini avoided her gaze, "Only about a week."

"A whole week?" Temari flinched away, "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I-I didn't know what to say," Rini replied, "And it wasn't a sure thing until two days ago. I had to pass a test to see if I was good enough to become a medic, so we weren't going to move unless I was accepted into the program."

"But you could have said something," Temari argued, "That way I would have known it was a possibility- I take that back, a probability."

"Tema-chan, I really don't want to argue," Rini begged, "I'm sorry, I was wrong not to tell you."

Temari's jaw clenched and she looked away. Rini felt as though she'd been stabbed in the gut. Did Temari really hate her that much? But she soon realised why Temari had looked away. She was crying.

"Temari?"

"Damnit," Temari muttered, wiping the tears away viciously, as though they'd personally wronged her. "Why do you have to go? There are plenty of medics here that could teach you!"

"I don't want to go, Temari," Rini muttered, tears springing to her own eyes, "It's not like I want to go live somewhere I don't know anyone, in a village I've never seen, and leave my friends behind."

The two shared a quiet moment filled with silent tears and the simple comfort of having the other beside them. After a short while Temari's tears stopped and she apologised for her small breakdown, Rini dismissed it, giving her a watery smile, and hesitantly hugged her friend. The two then snuggled down under the large, warm blanket and tried to sleep. For Temari it came easily. Rini, however, had a few problems, the main one being that her sugar rush hadn't run its course, and the other… related to the soft-drink she'd had earlier.

Temari had given her a brief tour after she returned from gathering her belongings, so she knew where the bathroom was. However, on her slightly bleary and yawning return, she somehow ended up on a balcony. She blinked in confusion, looking around her. Moonlight spilled over her blue hair, turning it a pale silver-blue. Her skin became dappled with silvery light, and the same light glistened in slightly bloodshot eyes. She walked across the moon-stained surface, her arms wrapped around herself to try and suppress her shivers. She was wearing only a spaghetti strap satin shirt and matching shorts. They were white with dark blue patterns.

She looked out across Suna, drinking in every detail of her birth town. It wasn't what one would call beautiful, it had no real pattern, and no particular design, but to her it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She really didn't want to leave Suna, and not just for the reasons she'd given Temari. The place was different, and she loved the sunsets, but mainly, it was home. Home in a way that no other place could be, or ever would be. She giggled to herself, she was always scolding her father for being philosophical or sentimental, now she felt like a hypocrite.

She turned so that her back was leaning against the balcony railing. She looked up at the moon, which was hovering over the house in its swollen glory. Silhouetted against the huge, silvery orb was Gaara. His hair, which in the sunset had been stained with orange and yellow, was almost ghostly in the silvery light. A soft breeze lifted it, making it blow about ever so gently, so that it looked as if it were floating about of its own accord. His skin was painted silver-white and only added to the ghost-like appearance. Rini could have sworn that she was looking at an angel, only one without wings.

His head turned and icy blue-green eyes met hers. She fought back a blush and looked away. She heard a faint rustle of clothing and found that Gaara was standing on the rail beside her, a strange look in his eyes.

"H-hello," Rini said, offering a hesitant smile.

He glared and suddenly all the sense Rini still possessed was gone, "Hmph."

"You're… the one they called bakemono, right?" she asked.

The gourd uncorked itself and sand flowed out into the air, flowing around them. Rini, who was still feeling a little giddy, giggled at the moon-silvered grains as they brushed almost gently over her skin.

"You're not scared?" his voice was somewhat deep for his age, and rough from lack of use.

"No," she replied, "I was the first time you did this, but you didn't hurt me then," she shrugged, "So why should I be scared now."

"Because I could kill you in heartbeat, girl," he spat back.

She nodded in understanding, though not in agreement, and looked back at the moon, ignoring the red-head completely. He stared at her, she could feel his eyes burning over her cheek and neck, but she ignored it. They stood there for a while longer, either looking up at the moon and stars (Rini) or glaring coughstaringcough at the person beside them (Gaara). Rini would occasionally point out a constellation or particular star, Gaara either ignored her or gave a small 'hmph' to show he'd heard.

It was at least twenty minutes before Rini realised her sugar rush was nearly gone, and her eyelids started drooping. She yawned tiredly and leaned rather heavily against the railing. She turned to Gaara.

"Sorry," she muttered, "But I'm going to fall asleep on my feet, goodnight."

"Hmph," the pretty eyes glared at her.

Rini was already at the door when a wall of sand stopped her. She turned back around, feeling annoyed, she wanted to sleep.

"What?" she snapped.

"What's your name?"

She blinked, "Rini."

The sand retreated and she staggered back to the bedroom, blissfully unaware that she was being watched by a certain red-headed, pretty-eyed boy.

* * *

**Well, that's almost it for the Memories and Past section. It's also the last of my prepared chapters, so the updates will be a little less frequent. Review ppl.  
**

**Slash**


	8. Of Bets and Promises

**Hello! An update is here! It's kinda short, but oh well...**

**Enjoy!**

**Slash**

* * *

"Okay, let's try that again, shall we?" Jin, a tall, dark-skinned woman ordered. 

Rini tried not to groan in exasperation, they'd tried the same damned exercise a thousand times, and they still couldn't do it. Taro, her partner, didn't bother to hide his annoyance, and scowled. Taro was usually a calm and gentle boy, two years older than Rini, and very talented. But this was really starting to get to him. The constant, never-ending, impossible training.

"Do we have to do it again?" he growled, his grey eyes flashing with annoyance. "We've tried a thousand times to do this! We just can't, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," Jin retorted, "This is the most basic of chakra control training, you need to get it right, or you'll never be a medic."

"I thought that walking up trees and such was the easiest," Rini said quietly.

"True, though I thought that you would have covered that," Jin replied, "Most Genin have."

Rini flushed, "I'm not a Genin."

"Oh? Don't tell me you're a Chuunin at your age?"

"No," Rini muttered, "I never went to the academy."

"I see," Jin turned her brown eyes to the brown haired, grey-eyed boy. "What about you?"

"I went for a few months, but my family moved here before I graduated," Taro replied, his cool attitude returning.

"No wonder this isn't working then," Jin threw up her arms in exasperation, "I thought I was dealing with the two most talented apprentice medics here. I thought that you two scored the highest on the entrance exam."

"We did," they replied, eyes narrowed, "We passed the medic apprenticeship exam, not a shinobi one."

Jin sighed. While she was an excellent teacher, the best available, she was also very critical and even a little impatient. She tended to set them activities to do that were above their level, just to test how they would approach it. However, this time she really had thought that they would have been able to deal with it.

"Okay," the medic-nin sighed, closing her dark-brown eyes and massaging her temples. "We'll start from the basics. Let's find some good trees."

The two followed their sensei dutifully, their steps even and perfectly synchronised. Taro shot Rini a concerned look, they had been working on that particular exercise for such a long time he was surprised that her chakra wasn't drained. Rini smiled faintly and continued walking, producing a feather to show she wasn't out yet. Taro nodded and looked away.

They were moving deeper and deeper into the forest surrounding their little town, it was dark but with patches of sunlight forcing their way through the canopy of leaves. The trees, in some places, were so closely knit that they could barely squeeze past, and Jin had to teleport through using a Jutsu. If they ever needed a safe place to run to, this would be perfect, especially with a few protective jutsus.

It was about ten minutes of walking later before the group found a suitable place. It was a clearing, not too big, but not too small, and there were two huge, and I do mean huge, trees. Rini stared up at them, somewhat regretting her suggestion that they start with trees. She sighed and turned to Taro, who was currently calculating where he thought he could reach. His grey eyes were filled with concentration, and a fierce determination. He looked over, as if he'd felt her gaze, and flashed her a small smile. She returned it, and turned back to their sensei, who was explaining.

Rini listened closely, memorising the words. They took out a kunai, which they carried because all medics were taught basic taijutsu and weapon training, and began to scale the trees. Rini managed to get about two metres up on her first try, and scored a deep mark into the trunk. She gracefully pushed off the tree, back flipping in midair to land on her feet. She was struck by an idea, and smirked before tucking it away for later. She looked over at Taro, who was about five metres up, he slashed the trunk and fell back, landing a little clumsily.

"Bet I can make it up before you," Rini said teasingly.

"If I beat you, you owe me a favour. You win… and I'll," he hesitated.

"And you'll treat me to ice-cream," she finished.

"Fine," he nodded, then smirked, "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

He ran at the tree, his feet glowing with chakra. Rini sighed and checked for Hoshiko. She was about a kilometre to the west; while Rini couldn't talk to the gyrfalcon at such a distance (yet), she could find her wherever she was (with some limitations, obviously). She blinked and looked at Taro, who had added another metre and a half to his climb. Rini winced and walked over to her tree. She knocked heavily on the trunk, feeling the vibrations echoing through her palms and listening to the resulting **_thud!_**.

'Slightly hollow. Thick. Firm, slick surface,' she thought calculatingly, looking up the tree. 'Last time I rebounded off it. Too much chakra.' She tapped a finger against the trunk. 'It has rough chakra. I need fuzzy chakra to stick. So…'

She took a few steps back and concentrated, pushing and poking chakra into every part of her feet. She kept walking back, until there was about three metres between her feet and the trunk. Her blue eyes flashed open, and she dashed forward, her feet bouncing off the springy grass. Her feet hit the trunk with a dull **thunk!** and she concentrated on keeping them there. She slipped a few centimetres but eventually managed to stick properly. She took a step forward, her feet slid a little, but she was gaining ground. She ran up the trunk, the kunai clutched in her right hand. She felt a rush of excitement as she passed the first branch. Second. Third. She grinned happily and let out a happy shout.

Then it all went downhill. The chakra, which she'd been concentrating on constantly, flickered in and out of control, before what little control she had died completely. She yelped, slashing the tree, and, in a last ditch attempt to remain attached, pumped chakra into her feet. She grimaced as she was flung off the tree, her body in freefall. She landed awkwardly, but luckily nothing broke or sprained.

She looked over at Taro, who had managed to beat her. Again. Though he wasn't yet at the top of the tree, he was much further up than she'd managed, at least six or seven metres higher. She glared at the new notch, which he was just placing about thirty centimetres higher than his last. She let out a low growl and swung back to the tree.

* * *

Jin watched her students with interest, she could see they had potential, though Taro in particular seemed talented, his control was a little off, but his power was enormous, and his chakra was incredibly flexible, suited to both healing and offensive jutsus. Rini's chakra was huge and her control was excellent, but she had a problem with this exercise. The exercises were designed for shinobi, for offensive chakra. Rini's chakra was, in essence, healing chakra. She wasn't built for shinobi work, she was a healer at heart, even if she did have the ability to defeat an enemy (which she did) she wouldn't have the heart to kill. Jin knew that.

The two got along fairly well, despite their different personalities and outlooks. They were cute together, Jin could hardly wait to play matchmaker, though it would be a few years yet. Rini was the hyper, fun-loving one, who never seemed to have a care in the world, even coming off as naïve and overly childish. Taro, however, was serious, constantly calm, always organised and always worried about some thing or another, he was smart and had a witty sense of humour, often telling a joke that took a few moments to understand.

She checked their progress. Rini had managed to get to just above midway, while Taro was pushing for the top. Rini seemed calmer than Taro for once, as though she wasn't really trying, though Jin could see the concentration etched in her face. Taro kept bouncing off at the same place, and the gashes he'd made were getting closer and closer together. It had been an hour or so by now, and the two were exhausted, their chakra was low too. Rini hit the ground for about the ninth time, her back crashing against the grass and roots. She choked for air as the wind was knocked from her lungs. Taro knelt beside her in concern, helping her sit up. The blue-haired girl gulped down oxygen her eyes wide with the fear that came with being unable to breathe like that. Taro chuckled and muttered something to her. She shot up and glared at him, he laughed and stood up, running a hand through his chestnut locks. She scowled and bopped him on the head.

A triumphant yell sounded from the top of one of the trees. Jin looked over at the scowling blue-haired girl, who was standing, attached to the tree, about three metres from the top, while Taro was perched precariously on the very top.

* * *

"You owe me a favour," Taro said smugly, eyes dancing.

"What do you want?" Rini sighed, walking down while he leapt.

"I think I'll keep this in storage, for a time when I really want to use it," he winked.

"Don't keep it too long," she warned, "These things have an expiry date."

* * *

'Yes,' she decided, smiling inwardly, 'Definitely cute.'

* * *

**Well, you know the drill!**

**Slash**


	9. Of Returns and Doubts

**Hello!**

**Omg, I'm sooooo sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I had to rewrite this chappie about six times, and i hope this is good enough. Hopefully, the next few chappiues will come quicker, ne?**

**Also, I'm going to, possibly, write a short, purely fluffy/crack-ish fic about Rini and the others, I've started, but i'll only continue if ppl want to read it. Basically, Rini tries to show off in front of Gaara and the Jutsu backfires majorly, i wont say anything else, coz it'll spoil it.**

**Enjoy!  
**

**Slash**

* * *

Rini dropped the last box in her room and grinned, wiping her brow and sighing, leaning against the cool wall. She had adapted to the cooler climate when she moved from Suna, now that she was back, readapting would take some time. Her old room seemed huge after her small house in her old town, but it also seemed somewhat empty. Though, that would soon change. 

She sighed happily and brushed the interlocked wing necklace at her throat affectionately. It meant more to her than almost anything in the world. She'd received it on her fifth birthday, it was the only thing that she had of her sister, who had died nearly fifteen years ago. The necklace had once been hers, and was the only thing that Ayame Hikari was able to give her much younger sister.

There was a clink of metal against metal and Rini smiled, looking down at the silver bracelet at her wrist. It was just slightly overlarge, and looked as though it was about to fall off, though Rini knew it wouldn't. It looked like a charm bracelet, with four small charms attached. The first was a small but detailed feather, engraved was the kanji symbol, Rin. The second was a three dimensional kanji for Suna. The third was a swirling orb of silver-blue chakra, it had been there for almost four years now, and it never faded away, it was solid, and yet intangible. The last was something special, something that was rare to get, and this was something that she'd worked herself half to death to get. A ball of gold chakra.

The gold chakra was the highest token a medic could receive, it meant that they were allowed to teach others, and to open their own practice, it also meant that she was fully capable of anything that was thrown at her, within reason. She'd trained for almost three years to get that sphere, and had managed it after three failed attempts.

She'd passed the Gold exams, which were actually similar to the Chuunin ones, only they were taken as a two man team. She and Taro had passed with ease, though their first three attempts had failed, they'd mainly been information collecting strikes. Taro had beaten her score-wise, but he'd fainted from exhaustion at the end, while she still had some of her chakra left, albeit a very small fraction.

She'd done everything from stamina training to practicing one-handed seals to prepare for the exam. On the seals front, she could manage a few weak healing techniques and most of her blood-line related jutsus. The one handed seals were harder to use, as she found it harder to mould her chakra, often using too much and becoming drained. She sighed and opened the box.

She smiled softly at the small wooden box sitting atop the neat pile of her personal effects. It was made of mahogany wood, a rarity, and had intricate, swirling patterns carved into the lid. She was about to lift the lid when.

"Rin-chan!" her mother's voice called up the stairs. "Rin-chan?"

"Hai, Kaa-san?" Rini poked her head through the door to look down at her mother.

"I need to run to the markets to organise a few things… would you like to come? You might get to see… oh what was her name… Temari?" the blue-haired woman smiled up at her daughter.

Rini felt a pang at the unintentional jab about Temari, but smiled back anyway and shook her head.

"No thanks, Kaa-san. I have to finish unpacking and head to the hospital to turn in my application," Rini replied.

"Oh, okay," Daija disappeared for a moment, and returned holding a handbag. "I'll see you later. And don't forget to lock the door when you go out!"

"I won't!" Rini called as the door clicked shut.

The medic sighed and leaned against her doorframe, her head tipped back and her eyes shut. She hadn't been lying about the hospital, she actually did have to turn in an application form, but she also didn't really want to take too much of a chance of seeing Temari or Kankuro so soon after arriving. After all, she had lost contact with the two siblings over the years, and they probably didn't want to talk to her. She sighed and set the unopened box on her desk, which had been one of the first things she set up, after her bed.

She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist sadly. At what price had she gotten her dream? Would she lose the best friend she ever had because she left to follow her own dreams? She turned her hand over and looked fondly at the scars lacerating her knuckles. She hadn't expected them to scar, but she was glad they had, because it was a reminder of the first time she met the blonde kunoichi. She sighed again and let her hand drop to her side. She'd changed since then, changed a lot.

She opened the second drawer on the right side of the desk and pulled out a file. She tucked it under her arm and bumped the drawer shut again with her hip. She set it on the desk beside the box and began to unpack her belongings. She pulled books, photographs, trinkets, small gifts, a diary, a half filled sketchpad, and a mirror.

She looked calculatingly at her reflection. Her now long blue-hair was held back in a braid that reached her hips. She made a mental note to get it cut some time soon. Her sapphire eyes looked up at her curiously, their innocent, childish look hadn't yet faded despite the fact that she would turn fifteen in a few months. She sighed and looked over at her full length mirror. Her hands were still soft due to the lack of physical training she did. Her white tank-top hugged her curves, and her flat, taut stomach. Her camouflage cargo pants hung from her hips, revealing just the slightest fraction of her belly.

She was actually slightly taller than she'd expected to grow, but, she thought, somewhat sulkily, she wasn't likely to grow much more now. Her skin, despite having lived in a cooler, forest enclosed town for the past six or seven years, was still tanned, though not to the same extent as it had been when she was living in Suna.

With a sigh she set the mirror down on the desk, completing the room. She smiled with satisfaction and grabbed the file again and walked out of the room. She leapt down from the top of the stairs, feeling slightly smug as her chakra allowed her to land perfectly. Yes, her training had payed off. She half skipped, half walked into the hall, wrinkling her nose at the layer of dust that had managed to accumulate over the past few years, obviously her parents hadn't thought to get someone in to clean it.

Yes, they had moved back into their old house, as they had only moved to one of the small summer houses her family owned. The Hikari's, despite their dwindling numbers, were quite rich and wide-spread as the family had no set allegiance to any shinobi village, like the Hyuuga's had with Konoha. That, however, did not mean that her family didn't work. Her mother was an amazing musician and gave lessons, her father, meanwhile, though he had given up his ANBU status like his wife, bred some of the top hunting birds in the Five Nations, and many people paid high prices for one.

She sighed and pinched her nose to avoid sneezing. She made a mental note to stop sighing, she'd been doing that far too often. She walked to the front door and pulled it open, patting her pocket to make sure of the key she'd placed in there at the beginning of the move. She nodded to herself, pulled on her shoes, locked the door and pulled it shut behind her.

Now out in the hot, midday sun, the girl found herself elated to feel the intense heat, something that surprised her. In general, she preferred the cold. She shook her head with an amused chuckle. She was a hypocrite, it seemed.

The walk through town was slow, as she wanted to take her time and see everything again, drinking in the details of the town she'd grown up in, and, though she didn't know it, she would fall in love in. People who vaguely recognised her smiled or looked at her curiously. Some of the village children laughed as they ran around her, nearly tripping her, she scolded them half-heartedly and was rewarded with playful pouts. She'd smiled at them and produced a bouquet of brilliantly coloured feathers, at which the girls had squealed and gushed, while the boys stared at the jutsu she'd used.

The technique was simple enough, so she'd only used one hand, and three seals to make it. She'd then split it into five smaller bunches and distributed them. The boys had scoffed and muttered something about giving them to their mother or sister, though their eyes glowed. Rini giggled as the girls thanked her, before running off to show their parents and other friends. She sighed happily. Suna, it seemed, had changed, though for the better. There used to be so much fear and danger, now it seemed bright and happy.

She stopped momentarily to look at the stores; there were toy stores, jewellery stores, a few super-market type shops, a tiny shop, tucked away, that made Rini blush, and a variety of stores she didn't bother to look at. It was nearly half an hour before she reached the hospital, due to her slow pace, and constant pauses, but, she thought to herself, at least she made it.

She padded casually through the doors and up to the receptionist, who looked up, a cheerful grin plastered to her face.

"Hello, miss," she chirped, "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to turn in this application," Rini handed her the file. "It needs to be seen by Kazekage-sama too."

"Have a good afternoon!" the woman chirped.

Rini left the hospital, shuddering at the insanely peppy tone the woman had used. Her journey home was far shorter, as she didn't pause to look at things, and before long she had landed silently in front of the door. She smiled, dusted herself down, and opened the door, removing her shoes in the entranceway.

* * *

Temari sighed and dumped the stack of papers on Gaara's desk. Said brother looked up at her wearily. He'd changed greatly over the past three years or so, and was more friendly, if such a word could describe the stoic Kazekage. His eyes fell on the new stack of papers and he sighed. 

"More?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Temari replied tiredly. "I can help sort them."

"Mm." She took that as a yes.

She sighed again, and lifted half the pile away. Gaara took the first file and opened it to read. These were all job applications and such that the Kazekage needed to approve, mainly for high positions, or opening their own business. She'd helped Gaara out before on these kind of things, mainly because he refused, point blank, to hire a proper secretary, and she got stuck with the job.

She had three possibilities; definitely not, it'll do, and good applicant. The majority made it into the first two piles, though there was one or two that had been deemed good enough for an almost definite 'yes'. There was everything from a man wishing to open a new weapons store, to a woman after a position in the ANBU. She had sorted both into the middle pile.

She was about half-way through by the time Gaara had even started to sign anything, but that was because he actually had to think about it for a while, then sign or not. She sighed and leaned over to grab the next on the pile, and slipped a little as her knee slid across the polished floorboards. The pile skidded out in an arc, and Temari muttered a few words that Gaara found himself amused by. The blonde kunoichi pulled them back into the original pile, but one file fell from the top, falling open to show the picture and details.

* * *

**Name**: Hikari Rini 

**Age**: 14

**Sex**: Female

**Hair Colour**: Blue

**Eye Colour**: Blue

**Place of Birth**: Suna Base Hospital

**Occupation**: Medic

**Rank**: Gold Medic

**Blood Type**: O

**Speciality**: Ninjutsu/Medical Jutsu/Swordplay

**Living Relatives (Immediate Family)**: Hikari (nee Yami) Daija, Hikari Hiroshi

* * *

There were many other things, such as what she was applying for, who she'd trained under, how long she'd been a medic, the extent of her training, where she'd worked over the past four or five years, and where she was currently living. 

Temari drew the file towards her, looking down at the matured face of her childhood friend. Slowly she picked it up, and placed it on her lap, drinking in the details of her friend's life since she left, or at least what was written.

The blonde somehow managed to swallow past the huge lump that was forming in her throat, and shakily pulled a sheet of plain, white paper towards her. She took a pen from Gaara's substantial collection, and copied out the address. Her heart both rose and fell as she realised that Rini was back, and that she would be staying. At least according to what she was applying for. A six-month trial period as the head of a medical squad, the hospital could then decide if they wanted her to stay on.

Temari wanted both to shove the paperwork at Gaara and dash out the door to find Rini, and to tear the paper to shreds, and forget about her. She wasn't too sure where the latter had come from, but she knew Gaara would likely skin her for leaving him to deal with so much paperwork, so she did neither.

'I'll go find her tomorrow,' Temari told herself firmly. 'No running away. And no hurrying over now.'

The blonde kunoichi sighed and smiled dryly.

'Easier said than done…'

* * *

**Well, that's another chapter, review and i'll update! Also, tell me what you think of the idea mentioned above, and if you don't know what it is, you didn't read the first A/N, lol**

**On another note, I'm writing a co-author fic with a good friend of mine, LucyoftheDesert, you ought to read her fics! They're definitely worth it, and have lush descriptions and characters.  
**

**Review!**

**Slash  
**


	10. Of Notes and Tales

**Hello everyone!**

**I'm soooo sorry about the lack of updates, but another one, the second part of this chapter, will be up soon (this time I mean it)**

**STOP LAUGHING LUCY!**

**Okay, people, please check out 'Kazoku' (Family), it's going to be a lot better than this, and a lot longer! Here's the summary:**

**_An avenger, two jinchuuriki, a man who holds a fragment of the Kyuubi's soul, the woman who softened the heart of a demon, and two girls who really should even exist. This is gonna be one hell of a ride! Timetravel. Pairings inside._  
**

**Tess**

* * *

Gaara stared down at the slip of paper in his hand, a strange feeling akin to anger and confusion fizzing in him. With a scowl he set it beside the now sorted and signed papers, he had finished them last night after sending a fidgety and distracted Temari to bed, she was making more work for him, not less. There were, it seemed, up sides to being an insomniac, such as being able to finish more work, so that he had more free time during the day.

He glared at the paper, as though hoping it would disappear and replace itself with his sister, so that he could finish the new pile of paperwork that she'd delivered with the note a few hours ago.

_Gaara, _

_I've got some errands to run. I'll be busy for the rest of the day probably, if you really need me (and no, help for paperwork doesn't count) send someone. See you later. _

_Love, _

_Temari _

She'd abandoned him, left him to deal with the, almost literally, mountains of paperwork, alone. This was definitely not his day…

* * *

Temari felt slightly guilty for leaving Gaara with all the paperwork, but quickly squashed that, after all, this was very important, at least to her. Her heart swelled with anticipation, though good or bad, she wasn't sure. How much had her younger friend changed? Would she be the same, childish, playful, innocent, spontaneous, gentle, sensitive, yet falsely clueless girl she'd known? Or would she be completely changed by her training? Would she even want to see Temari again? Or would she simply smile politely and make excuses?

The blonde sighed exasperatedly, standing there wondering wasn't going to get anything done. She let her knuckles fall on the wooden door, then drew her hand back slightly and knocked again, three times, rapidly. There was silence on the other side of the Suna-based Hikari-main house for a moment, then the sound of footsteps. The door clicked open and a rather short man with blonde hair was revealed. His lips were set in a calming, gentle smile, and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners.

"And who might you be, miss?" he asked in a soft, yet powerful voice.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to disturb you," Temari apologised, bowing slightly. "My name is Temari. I was looking for someone, a friend."

The man frowned for a moment, then brightened.

"Ah, Temari, I do recall that my daughter, Rini had a friend by that name when we lived here a few years ago," he smiled again, and Temari could see where Rini had gotten her gentle, calming smile from. "I assume you're looking for her?"

"Hai," the blonde kunoichi smiled back. "Ano, its Hiroshi-san, ne?"

"Hai," the man nodded agreeably. "I'm sorry, but Rini left about an hour ago."

"Oh…" Temari felt her heart slip a few inches. "Do you know where she went? Or when she'll be back?"

"Gomen nasai," he shook his head regretfully. "Demo her friend, Taro-kun, should be at the hospital at the moment, he may know."

"Arigato," she was about to bow again, but he stopped her.

"There's no need," he told her. "If you're a friend of Rin-chan's, there's no need for formalities."

She thanked him again, and left, the door closing as she turned. Now to find 'Taro-kun', while she didn't have a description, she did have a name, and that was all she needed to find him in the hospital.

About ten minutes later she found herself in front of the hospital, squinting slightly against the glare from the white walls. She grimaced. Didn't those idiots know that you did _not_ paint something white in a desert? It just blinds the person looking at it…

She stepped into the cool waiting foyer, and glanced around. She located the front desk and strode confidently up to it. The brunette at the desk looked up with a smile and greeted her.

"Hello Temari-san! I do hope that you're here on business, and that you're not ill."

"Luckily, it's the former," Temari grinned back. "I'm looking for someone called Taro."

"Ah! Taro-kun," the girl at the front desk blushed a little. "He's-."

"Right here," a deep voice said from just behind Temari.

The blonde Jounin jumped and spun around. She instantly knew why the girl at the desk had blushed. He was incredibly good-looking. Chestnut hair fell about his head, about the same length as Gaara's, his grey eyes watched her calmly, though amusement danced in the stormy irises. His skin was tanned, and lean muscles were visible through his white t-shirt.

"You were looking for me?" he asked.

"H-hai," she replied, "I'm looking for Rini, have you seen her?"

"Ah, Rin-chan," the boy smiled radiantly. "She was here about half an hour ago."

"Do you know where she went?" Temari asked.

"May I ask you something?" he asked.

"Uh, okay?"

"Why are you looking for her?"

"We were… are… well, we knew each other before she moved," Temari wondered if she should refer to their friendship in past or present tense.

"Oh," the brunette boy smiled again, "I think she went to get ice-cream."

"Thank you, Taro-san!" she said, then brushed past him and headed for the door.

The blonde Jounin hurried through the streets, Rin would be there, she knew it, that ice-cream shop they'd always gone to as kids. She felt as though she was going too fast, faster than was humanly possible, but dismissed it, she knew it was just her mind stressing over what was coming, and stuffing up her perception of time, speed and distance.

She spotted Kankuro up ahead, talking to a girl who managed to reach his mid-to-upper chest, and was wearing his kitty-eared hat, which looked like it had been either pulled on hastily, or simply dropped on her head, as it was lopsided. She looked around, and sighed in defeat, it seemed she'd been wrong, but she walked over to Kankuro, after all, two people searching would find her quicker than one.

"Oi, Kankuro!" she called when she was a few metres away, still walking closer.

The boy tipped his head slightly to look at her, and the girl spun around, bright, sapphire orbs wide. Temari froze. The girl froze.

"Pfft, should have known you'd show up like that," Temari muttered.

"Temari!?" Rini gasped, more to herself than the other.

They stood at opposite sides of the court, blue eyes, of such different shades, locked. Kankuro, for once, shut up, and let them have their moment. Rini slowly lowered her eyes, crumbling under Temari's gaze. The older of the two stepped closer… closer…

Rini felt the hope that had grown at the sight of her friend's delighted eyes die abruptly; the lack of reaction was enough to tell her that Temari was at least a little bitter. She bit back tears, and fiddled with her bracelet, guilt pangs aching in her stomach. She was vaguely aware of Temari moving, walking; but she wasn't even in the same world any longer, rather, lost in her memories and regrets.

Abruptly, she was snapped from her world. She blinked in shock. She could hear Temari's rapid heartbeat, and feel her breaths, choked and uneven. The soft, sandy-vanilla scent that was uniquely Temari filled her nose. Rini blinked away tears, and wrapped her arms around the taller girl, sobbing laughter escaping her lips.

"D-damn you," Rini managed to say. "You're st-still taller."

"Heh…" was the raspy reply. "You're still short."

Rini choked with both laughter and tears, and buried her face in Temari's shoulder; shaking slightly. Her hands gripped the back of Temari's shirt, and her lips pulled themselves into a trembling grin.

Kankuro smiled to himself; he had missed Rini, that was for sure, and he knew that Temari had too, that much was obvious. It had been good to talk to her again, to hear her voice, see her eyes and smile, to once again smell the gentle fuchsia scent that followed her. He had mentally burned the feeling of her hug into his memory, and the trilling laughter.

He watched his sister, who was usually calm and emotionless in public (with a few exceptions involving some annoying boys), embrace the smaller, younger teen, who neither had seen since she'd moved nearly seven years previously. He could tell both were crying, and was glad for their sake that most people were indoors due to the heat of the midday sun.

After a few tear-filled minutes the two pulled back, and Rini grinned shakily up at the blonde kunoichi.

"Missed you," she said quietly.

"Baka," Temari hit her gently on the head. "Ice-cream?"

"Uh-huh," the smile she gave the elder of the two was slightly watery, but heartfelt. "We can catch up!"

Temari smiled back, the tears already gone from her eyes, though said eyes were tinted pink from crying.

"Cookies and cream?"

"You know me too well."

"No, you're just predictable."

"OI!"

The banter continued; Kankuro found it amazing that the two could fall back into such a close relationship (he covered his nose to prevent the girls seeing his nosebleed at this) after such a long time apart. The girls were already at the counter, ordering what looked like three ice-creams; cookies and cream, boysenberry, and chocolate (1). He sat at one of the shaded tables, absently toying with a small puppet he brought with him; usually he used it to carry messages or some such, but it was also something to keep him occupied when he was bored.

Rini was still wearing his hat; she looked cute, and she'd grown up a lot.

"Here you go, Pinocchio," Rini handed him the ice-cream and sat in one of the other seats at the table.

She looked blissful as she devoured her ice-cream; savouring the flavour.

"I've told you," he sighed, taking his hat back. "Pi-."

"Pinocchio is a puppet, not a puppeteer," Rini interrupted. "I know; I've been told a thousand times, yet I still do it, what does that tell you?"

"That you're forgetful?"

Glare.

"That you don't give a damn?"

Nod.

They continued to chat meaninglessly, but eventually the conversation was steered towards their positions in the ninja world, and their lives while they were separated.

"Well, Kankuro and I are Jounin now," Temari explained as they relaxed lazily under the umbrella, having finished their ice-cream. "We all took the Chuunin exams about three years ago, but only a boy from Konoha became a Chuunin then."

"Geez, Temari," Rini teased. "Beaten by someone (theoretically) younger than you!"

"Oh shut up!" the blonde grumbled, smiling nonetheless. "What about you?"

"Well, after I moved I met my sensei, Jin," her blue eyes were closed as the spoke. "And I was put onto a two-man team with Taro; he lives here in Suna now. Jin was strict, and tough, but we learned a lot very quickly; honestly, I think my chakra grew twice its size in the first two months."

"After about, um, I think it was six months, Jin-sensei decided that we were advancing too well for her to be able to teach us both and have us both reach our highest potential; so we were split up, I stayed with Jin-sensei, while Taro went to work with Ritsuko-sensei. About… three and a half years later, I was able to take the Silver Exams; I failed the first one, but passed the second one. Then, a few months ago, I took the Gold Exams for the… fourth time, and passed this time."

"Geez, Chibi-chan," Kankuro laughed. "How did you fail three times?"

"Shut up baka," the medic growled. "It's hard, okay?"

"Oh really?" he asked, half teasing.

"Yes," she glared. "First you've got to do a paper test. Then you're put in an illusion world that feeds off your chakra, then you have to diagnose, treat and heal a series of patients; each of which is harder than the last. The last part of the test… you have a choice between two people, and you can only save one; they're both precious people… so it tests your ability to remain calm in any situation."

"But you'd know it was an illusion," Kankuro pointed out, "So you wouldn't really freak out that much."

"Wrong, part of the genjutsu is that it plants memories of how you came to be in that situation, so it seems like it's actually happening," Rini replied.

Kankuro was surprised, he had no idea what the medic's exams were like, well, until now; he hadn't expected them to be like that, they were similar to the Chuunin, or even Jounin exams. He'd never thought that being a medic was easy, not by a long shot, but he'd never thought that it would be as hard as it seemed now.

"Hey," Rini spoke up, her eyes suddenly alight with realisation. "You didn't tell me what happened to Gaara…"

* * *

**Sorta-cliffie, but we all know what's gonna happen! Hope you liked, will have another chapter up ASAP, writer's block permitting.**

**Review! **

**Tess **


	11. Of Answers and Emergencies

**Hello, I'm not dead!**

**Updated becausee Lucy-chan updated! Hope you like this somewhat filler-ish chapter...**

**Tess**

* * *

"Hey," Rini spoke up, her eyes suddenly alight with realisation. "You didn't tell me what happened to Gaara…" 

Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, smiling slightly; they were definitely proud of who their little brother had become, not what, but who. He was a lot more open now, and had been convinced that killing every person that looked at him the wrong way wasn't the best reason the live (it was now only every second person). Temari was now curious as to whether Rini still had a crush on the youngest sibling, while Kankuro as formulating the best reply. Kankuro, however, wasn't one to mince words.

"He's the Kazekage," was the reply from the middle child.

Rini blinked, she'd heard that there was a new Kazekage, and that he was the youngest ever, but she hadn't known his name. She smiled happily.

"Is he enjoying it?" she asked.

"Well, other than the paperwork," Temari laughed. "Yeah; and the villagers aren't so afraid of him anymore."

"I'm glad," Rini murmured. "I take it you three are getting along better then?"

"Hai," the female sibling replied.

Rini wasn't surprised that her friend didn't elaborate, and she didn't push it. She was curious, however, as to how he'd gotten the Kazekage position; logically, someone from outside the shinobi world would think that he inherited it from his father, but the Kage positions weren't given like that, so there had to be a good reason… and considering that most of the villagers- no, all the villagers, were either afraid of him, or simply hated him, it had to be a pretty damn good reason.

"So… is he dating someone?" she asked curiously.

Temari giggled at this; "What, does someone still have a crush on my otouto?"

"You had slash have a crush on Gaara?" Kankuro asked, barely stifling laughter.

Rini flushed and ducked her head, causing whoops of laughter and teasing from the Siblings. Rini created a few feathers with a single seal and stabbed Kankuro with them, he jumped at the sensation.

"I thought medic's vowed to cause no pain," he muttered.

"Are you in pain?" she asked tartly.

"No…"

"Numbing jutsu, basic stuff."

Kankuro grumbled and pulled the offending feathers from his arm, glaring half-heartedly at the currently innocent looking almost-fifteen-year-old.

"No, I don't," Rini looked at Temari seriously as she spoke.

"Hey, Rin," Temari asked. "Would you like to come back to our place for a while; you can reacquaint yourself with Suna… and my otouto."

"Oh shut up," Rini grumbled. "Yes, I'd like that. And no, I don't have a freakin' crush, got it, fan-girl?"

Temari looked horribly offended at that last comment, and Rini blinked, noticing for the first time the other way her words could be interpreted. She didn't bother to make her meaning clear.

'_Hey, Hoshiko?_'

'**Brat?**'

'_Oh for the love of… will you stop that? It's been nearly seven years for Kami-sama's sake!_'

'**You'll always be my brat,**' Hoshiko's voice took on a slightly affectionate tone as she fluttered down to land on the back of the remaining chair.

The result was predictable and belated. Temari and Kankuro gaped for a moment at the brilliantly coloured phoenix now preening herself in front of them, then looked at Rini, who didn't seem at all surprised by the beautiful, flame-coloured plumage.

"Uh… Rini?" Temari asked warily. "Is that Hoshiko?"

"Yep," the blue-haired girl nodded.

"But… wasn't she a gyrfalcon?" Kankuro's question was met with silence, before…

"Yeah…"

The two Jounin stared at the slightly miffed bird.

'_Hoshiko, can you tell Otou-san that I'll be back at some time around sunset, unless he wants me back earlier?_' the Hikari asked, her eyes glazed white.

'**I guess… you owe me though.**'

'_Don't I always?_'

The bird took off gracefully, her wing cuffing Rini's head. Rini glared after her, but then smiled and shook her head.

"Does anyone else feel like they're having déjà vu?" Rini asked, cocking her head.

Temari couldn't help but agree, and Kankuro soon gave confirmation.

"Rin… about Hoshiko… how is she… what is she?" Temari asked hesitantly.

"She's a phoenix," Rini replied. "As to how… I'm not really that sure… she just turned up one afternoon looking like that… She didn't tell me why or how."

"Are there any side affects?" Temari questioned. "I mean, you're connected… right?"

Rini's lips curved into a teasing smile.

"I take it that means yes?" Temari sighed.

Rini continued to smile.

Kankuro stood up. "We should get going…"

"Yeah…" Rini agreed, following Temari as she copied Kankuro.

They walked down the main street together, Kankuro walking a little ahead of the two girls, who were silently enjoying the other's company. Rini was glad beyond reason that Temari didn't hate her, she'd been worried, but it seemed that it really was true that the worry is worse than the event…

Rini grinned suddenly, pressed a finger to her lips as she looked at Temari, then silently dashed forwards. Kankuro stumbled as she latched onto his back, giggling. The puppeteer groaned, then hoisted her higher on his back and continued walking. Temari laughed and ran forwards so she was walking abreast of the duo. Rini was now trying to get down, and not succeeding. Kankuro had a slightly smug smirk on his face, and was pointedly ignoring the blunette's annoyed voice.

After a few minutes, she gave up, and relaxed a little, watching the shadows on the sand, and feeling the hot, dry wind on her skin again, and revelling in the warmth of the desert sun. She definitely loved Suna; she'd enjoyed living in the forest village, but Suna was her home, she knew that. She'd tried dancing in the forest, but the leaves under her feet hadn't felt the same as the hot sand, and the cool breeze hadn't been the same as the hot, dry wind of the desert.

She rested her chin on the top of Kankuro's head, and was glad that the other citizens had abandoned the heat of the mid-day sun for their cooler houses, leaving the trio to enjoy their walk without having to be formal. She smiled at the sandy, boy-ish scent his hair had, and remembered she was still wearing his hat. She made a mental note to buy one like it.

Her eyes widened as she took in the enormous Kazekage mansion. She'd been there before, sure, but not in years, and it seemed bloody huge. Temari stopped beside them at the gate, pressing her palm against the lock. Rini sensed a small flux of chakra, and the gate swung inwards. She looked curiously at the eldest sibling.

"Chakra recognition," she shrugged. "We'll program yours in sooner or later. It keeps the fangirls out."

"Fangirls?" Rini asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Since Gaara became Kazekage girls suddenly decided he was the hottest thing in town," Kankuro told her, walking inside and waiting for the gate to close. "I don't know why, I'm older, and more charming, and more handsome."

"And more modest," Temari teased.

Kankuro grinned a little, and let Rini slide down his back. She landed carefully in the sand, and found her balance quickly. Then she spun around, her hands thrown up and laughing. Temari and Kankuro watched in worry, had she gone loco from the heat? The youngest girl spun quickly, her feet leaving patterns in the sand. She stopped, and barely stumbled, surprising the siblings.

"How'd you do that without getting dizzy?" Kankuro asked, looking dizzy from just watching.

"Spotting, or you can use chakra," she shrugged. "I spot."

She explained spotting as they walked through the courtyard and to the door. Suddenly, Rini stopped, and turned around. A bird fluttered around her, chirping excitedly, obviously happy to have found its target. Rini held out a hand, and focused on the bird; luckily, it was one of her family's messenger birds, so she didn't have to wait long to connect.

She frowned, and her eyes glazed white. Temari had stopped where she was opening the door, and Kankuro was standing with one hand held out towards her, looking a little worried.

"Damn," Rini muttered. "I have to go… there's been a problem… gotta go…"

"Aw, damn," Temari sighed. "Is it urgent?"

"This is our fastest messenger, I'd say so," the blunette replied. "I'm so sorry, but I really have to go… This'll have to wait…"

"It's okay," Temari shrugged. "See you another time?"

Rini ignored the frustration, and nodded, turning to the gate, which was swinging open. She looked at Kankuro, who was lowering a hand, his fingers extended like a spider or some sort of insect. She blinked and smiled thankfully, running down the courtyard she'd only just entered. She pulled out a tiny scroll, bit her thumb, and opened it. Smoke exploded around her, and the messenger bird, once big enough to sit in her palm, was big enough to ride. She swung a leg over it's neck, tucking her legs under the wing joints to stay on.

"I'll see you another day!" she called as she took off.

The siblings stared at the retreating bird, slightly surprised.

"Well… she's definitely still full of surprises," Temari said after a while, the door swinging open.

"No shit…"

There was silence... then...

"Hey… She's still got my hat!"

* * *

**I wasn't really happy with this, but I hope you enjoyed! Review if you did! Oh, please, spare two minutes to tell me your favourite part, or point out a mistake, please?  
**

**Tess**


	12. Of Payback and Threats

**I hate how most of this chapter turned out, mainly because I can't write battle scenes unless they're taijutsu ones, but oh well. Enjoy, as I have to go back to school in a few days, and I'm trying to update as much as I can before then. Two updates today, whoo! (not both on this story, before you ask).**

**Lucy-chan: You now have to update twice at least, but more because I want to read the rest, and I want you to catch up!**

**Everyone else: I'm not dead, and please don't hate me for the update speed. I also have a pet-peeve. I have 12 chapters, and 49 reviews. But, I have 29 favs, and 25 alerts, which makes no sense to me. Please, if you read it, take two minutes to review, even a few words, one line you liked, something you hated, something you want to see happen, something that you think needs improving. Please?**

**Tess **

* * *

Temari paused in her practicing, lowering her fan slowly, and looking towards the gate-way. Rini was standing there, leaning against a post; her hair blew in the wind, and her blue eyes looked just past her head at nothing. The blonde grinned at her friend, and waved her over. Rini smiled tiredly back, and walked slowly over to the fan-user. 

Temari frowned. The blunette's back was far too rigid as she walked, her shoulders too tense.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rini murmured back. "Just tired… and a little sad."

"What happened?"

"Remember a few days ago? How I had to run off suddenly?" Rini hopped up on top of one of the training posts. "Well-."

"Hey Rin!"

Temari resisted the urge to snap Kankuro's neck, and noted that Gaara was joining them this time. He stood as usual, emotionless but looking faintly comfortable. Rini dragged a smile up, never being one to let anyone but her closest friends know her sadness, and quite adept at covering it up.

"Heya, Kankuro!" she greeted, swinging her legs back and forth. "Ohayo, Gaara-sama."

She hopped down and bowed a fraction before straightening and reaching into her pocket. She pulled out Kankuro's hat, and offered it to him. He glared at her playfully, and took it, pulling over his head to hide dark reddish-brown locks. Rini grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry 'bout that," she shrugged. "I was in a hurry."

"Of course you were…" he said, sarcasm lacing the words.

"If we can get to business."

Rini froze slightly at the words, feeling the somehow rough yet smooth and indescribably fascinating voice dance in her ears. She shivered, sparks leaping down her spine. She shoved that away, scolding herself, and turned to face Gaara again.

"Gomen, Kazekage-sama," she murmured, bowing again, this time a little more deeply. "I'll leave you to y-."

"No, Rini, you're staying," Kankuro said.

She stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "You just wanna show off…"

Kankuro didn't reply, but the look on his face was enough for Rini. She smiled and ducked her head to hide her giggles. When she'd recovered, she looked at Gaara, meeting his eyes.

"I hope you don't mind if I watch?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Gaara looked back impassively, his eyes flicking over to his siblings, then he spoke. "It makes no difference; just don't get in the way."

"Hai," she nodded, and took a place on the furthest training post.

Gaara stood calmly, while Kankuro waited tensely in his stance. Rini shivered at the immense chakra leaping around the battlefield, and watched with anticipation. She hadn't seen Kankuro fight in many years, and she'd never seen Gaara battle, but knew he was bound to be a sight to be seen, especially as he was the Kazekage.

She took the brief time before the battle began to observe Gaara. He was different now, he carried himself differently; more regally, yet somehow more relaxed. He was taller, obviously, and his eyes were a little different, softer maybe. She sighed and looked away, missing the glance he sent her.

The battle began.

It was like a bomb went off, sand exploded upwards, snaking in powerful, swift ropes, for want of a better term; Kankuro, apparently with years of experience, dodged, but only just barely. Gaara didn't seem fazed, and whipped his arm towards the older boy. Again, Kankuro dodged, but not in time to miss a painful looking graze from the sand. Blood splattered down lightly, and Rini's eyes widened.

'He's that brutal… with his own brother?' she wondered.

Temari watched Rini out of her peripheral vision, wondering what her reaction to Gaara would be. She seemed surprised, a little impressed, though not fearful, or awestruck. Interesting…

Sand struck and lunged, the whole time Gaara did nothing more than gesture with an arm, though Kankuro looked hard put to avoid it all; already he'd had to summon two shield puppets, both of which had been obliterated in seconds, Rini was almost dizzy from the speed of the battle, but tried to follow it carefully.

Her eyes were drifting more and more towards Gaara; it was amazing how well he controlled the sand, even if the demon Shukaku did play a part in it. He looked so calm as he battled, none of the fevered excitement, or fear that she'd seen in some shinobi. The mask held firm, no concern for his brother showed, though whether this was because he genuinely didn't care, or because he was a very good actor, she wasn't too sure.

"Does he… is he really going to… kill Kankuro if he can't put up a good enough fight?" Rini asked, her tone worried and anxious.

"No," Temari replied quietly, her eyes growing sad and nostalgic. "You should have seen him a few years ago… if you think this is bad…"

Rini looked at her friend in confusion, what was she talking about? There was the sound of wood snapping, and her eyes jolted back to the battle, where Kankuro had managed to trap Gaara inside a puppet.; unfortunately, a great deal of sand exploded outwards, sending wood in every direction.

The final move was so fast Rini had to assume what had happened, because she'd blinked as a rain of sand and wood fell around her, and Kankuro was wrapped in sand up to his neck. Gaara stood, silent as always, waiting for his older brother to admit defeat.

"Geez Gaara, you had to make me look bad, didn't you?" Kankuro asked jokingly, breathing rather heavily.

"No, you do that quite well yourself," the red-head replied coolly, no trace of the joking light in his eyes on his tone.

The sand fell away, and Gaara lowered his arm. Kankuro stumbled for a second, then regained balance on the sand.

"Aww man, they were some of my best puppets," he whined.

"Be glad they weren't your best," Temari advised. "That was great, Gaara."

"Hn."

"Heh, I could take you on any day," Rini laughed.

It wasn't until Gaara's eyes met hers that she realised he may not have realised she was completely joking. She was about to open her mouth to tell him so, but he spoke before her.

"Prove it."

The words were blank, but powerful. She winced mentally at her own stupidity.

'He's the fricken' Kazekage, Rini-baka!' she shouted at herself. 'You're not even a ninja!'

She tried her best not to let her doubt show, nor the panic, but she knew his eyes would see it. She could tell his eyes saw everything, she knew he could read people easily, those eyes said it all.

'Shit, shit, shit!' she cursed. 'Stupid pride!'

Indeed, her pride was carrying her across the sand to stand opposite him. She could feel two sets of concerned eyes, and one set of curious eyes on her. She took a breath, and looked into aqua eyes, pulling up all the courage she had, praying her sparse ninja skill would stop her from getting herself killed.

'What is she doing?!' Temari screamed mentally. 'She's such an idiot! I just got her back, and now she's going to get herself killed!'

'Is she completely insane?' Kankuro wondered. 'She's not a ninja, and Gaara's the best in Suna, he's also got all Shukaku's power to draw on, and he's not adverse to killing. What's she? A Medic, with no ninja training, a considerable amount of chakra, sworn to heal and protect, and to top it off… a _girl_!'

Rini waited for him to move, her only advantage was being underestimated, and she had a feeling Gaara wouldn't risk it.

'Okay, I have a bunch of clan jutsus, an arsenal of medical jutsu, and about half his chakra,' she calculated, forcing down panic. 'Hopefully, he'll underestimate me, but not likely… I'm so screwed!'

'**Not completely, brat**,' a mildly miffed voice said. '**Am I nothing?**'

She didn't even bother to reply as Hoshiko began to circle above them.

'**Don't use… that jutsu**,' Hoshiko advised. '**Not unless all else fails, got it?**'

'_Hai, hai,_' Rini replied, letting relief wash over her. '_Ready?_'

'**Heh, you bet,**' the battle hungry phoenix told her.

* * *

'Strange… the minute the bird appeared, some of the fear left,' Gaara narrowed his eyes as he looked at the smirk drifting across the blunette's face. 'I need to be careful of that bird…'

* * *

Sand rocketed towards her as though someone had blown a starting whistle. She feinted and dodged, her hands forming rapid seals. Chakra blossomed in her palms and she slammed them together. 

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," she called.

The smoke erupted again, and she snatched her weapon out of it.

'**So soon?**' Hoshiko asked disapprovingly. '**You should have waited.**'

'_Watch and you'll see why, tori-baka._'

Sand shot at her, Gaara controlling it carefully. She noticed it was moving more slowly than with Kankuro. She smirked.

'He's made a mistake… never underestimate your opponent, no matter what they look like…'

She slashed downward, a blur of white following her arms. The sand shuddered at the impact, and began to crumble away from the sword. She whipped the feather-light weapon back around, intercepting another blow. She leapt back, chakra burning on the long blade. It was at least as long as her leg, but weighed a lot less than one would assume based on the size. It was essentially a very long feather, which could be hardened and sharpened with her wind-element chakra.

Gaara showed surprise only for a moment, then his sand advanced faster, making her hard-put to keep up with it. After the sand grazed her arm, she ditched the sword, banishing it in a second plume of smoke.

'That wasn't a mistake… he was testing…' she narrowed her eyes. 'Smart bastard.'

There was a split second break, during which the two assessed each other, searching for signs of weakness. Gaara watched the graze heal over quickly, eliminating it as a possible tracking device. Without warning his sand raced towards her again. She panted and leapt upwards, then cursed as the sand followed.

* * *

Temari watched with slight annoyance, Gaara was toying with her. Rini was no match for the Kazekage, or any ninja really, her only advantage was being underestimated, and since the Chuunin exams, Gaara had never made that mistake. 

Rini was fast, that was for sure, she was a good runner, and her years of dancing gave her stamina, flexibility, and excellent balance, as well as the fact that she could turn on a pin-head if need be. She had enough chakra to take on your average jounin, but not the skill. She had medical jutsus, which were keeping her from sustaining any significant damage, and her clan jutsus had served her well. Unfortunately, Gaara was playing, had he chosen to really try, Rini would have been dead by now.

Why had she challenged him in the first place? Did she honestly think she was good enough? No, the look in her eyes when Gaara had accepted the challenge had been enough to tell her otherwise. Had she been joking? It seemed likely, but why not just tell Gaara that? Did she want to show off? Was she really that stupid? Or did she just not have the ability to admit she wasn't strong enough?

* * *

'Kuso,' Rini thought angrily. 'Stupid Kami-damned pride!' 

She was using everything she had to keep up, and she hadn't even reached striking distance.

'I really need to do some training,' she decided, leaping over a torrent of sand. 'Really, really need to…'

She backed off a bit, and the attacks paused. She looked at the aqua eyes again, and her eyes widened.

'He… he's just playing!' she realised. 'This… he's strong… I need a plan.'

'**You're just realising this?**'

She didn't reply, her eyes narrowed. 'Wait a moment, I don't need to get that close… I have… _that_.'

'**That?**' Hoshiko asked, checking briefly her thoughts. '**Ah, _that_ that.**'

She pushed chakra to her legs, and shot off towards the Kazekage. Sand erupted from the ground, and moved to intercept her, but she paid it no heed, straining her legs, trained for dancing rather than running, to move faster. Even with the chakra boost, she wasn't that fast, and the sand wrapped around her arm-

-she tore away, blood running over her skin in warm, wet tracks. She raised her free hand to it, healing it quickly with soothing green chakra. She pushed pain down, along with excitement and nervousness, and drew up power. Pure, unadulterated power.

* * *

'Wha- what is she doing?' Kankuro watched the medic. 

She was circling, sometimes landing in funny positions, like she'd changed her mind half-way through the manoeuvre, and landed earlier than she planned. Gaara followed her patiently, sand coming in from all angles-

-but Rini eluded him, her eyes blank and her face impassive. Kankuro was surprised that Rini could do that, as she was usually very emotive, not one to hide feelings. Suddenly, she stopped, landing on all fours, and pulling her hands up in front of her, smirking triumphantly. There was something off about that smirk too, she looked almost spiteful. Her lips parted and she prepared to speak.

* * *

'Nice one, Rin,' Temari grinned.

* * *

'What is she doing? Is this a trap?' Gaara wondered, eyes widening a fraction as he tried to calculate her move.

* * *

"Final feather circle jutsu," the blunette said chakra bursting out either side of her. 

Aqua eyes widened at the sheer amount of chakra spreading around him, running a ring around him. Sand flew to his defence as the chakra exploded-

-feathers shot towards him, closer. Closer-

-the sand wasn't moving fast enough, at this rate he'd be hit-

-the gap was narrowing, but the feathers were moving too fast-

* * *

The explosion was audible in the centre of Suna, and several people glanced towards the training grounds, looking worried; had their Kazekage lost control of the Shukaku? As the sand began to settle, and nothing happened, they slowly returned to their business.

* * *

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" 

Gaara raised an arm, for the first time in quite a while blocking a blow physically. He pushed chakra to his skin quickly, and the sword left only a slight cut. The blunette stood before him, panting, sweating, and looking emotionally tense.

He frowned, why was she losing control like this? Only a few moments ago she'd been stable, and able to think a plan through that had nearly worked, or rather it had worked, just not necessarily the way she'd intended. His ultimate defence lay around them, the chakra he'd pumped into the sand for years had been disrupted by her pure-chakra blow.

Tears were staining her cheeks, as well as a few flecks of blood, sand and sweat. Her arms were shaking from the strength she'd used to bring the blade downwards, and the resistance she'd met.

"I'm not weak," she hissed.

'She's not talking to me,' Gaara realised, looking more carefully at her. 'But who…?'

She brought her leg around to kick him-

-but the sand intercepted it, and wrapped around her.

"Forfeit," he said quietly. "And I won't go further."

"With all due respect," she said, not even struggling. "Hell no."

Feathers exploded out of the sand.

'Feather clone?' he wondered. 'Where is she?'

He glanced behind him, to all sides; nothing.

"I said, 'Don't underestimate me!'"

He looked up, and whipped a hand upwards to, sand following.

"Ready, Hoshiko?!" Rini yelled.

The bird swooped downwards for the first time, wings tucked in, but slowly opening out. Rini's hands blurred through seals, and chakra began to build up all through her body, concentrated on her back.

'I've got to end this,' Gaara thought, slight panic building for some reason he couldn't name. 'NOW!'

'Heh, nearly there,' Rini thought, her mental tone somewhere between bitter, spiteful and triumphant, 'Even you couldn't do this, Onee-chan! Watch me!'

She was falling, but not as fast as Hoshiko was diving. Her chakra was so concentrated now that it nearly hurt, and she waited for the exact mom-

"Yuukai-."

She started to speak-

-but suddenly the sand was closing in, faster than ever before-

-it was all around her, her arms were held still, and her legs locked together, her back was hidden, preventing her jutsu from succeeding.

'**_Shit._**'

The thought was unanimous as Hoshiko swerved away, avoiding collision.

Rini felt sick, the chakra, unable to perform its purpose, returned back through the tenketsus, against their natural function. She would have thrown up, but she was thrown down, the sand releasing her and forcing her down to earth.

'_Shit._'

'**Nighty-night, brat.**'

She managed to divert her course slightly, landing so that the blow wasn't fatal, nor was she badly injured, however, Hoshiko had been right.

Everything went dark.

* * *

"Gaara! You didn't have to throw her!" Temari yelled, looking concerned for her friend, and angry at her brother. "Why did you do that! You could have just held her until she gave up!" 

The youngest sibling looked at her impassively. "This is payback for the paperwork."

Temari gaped.

"You… you nearly _killed_ her over _paperwork_?" she asked, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.

He looked at her flatly, not bothering to reply.

"Carry her back home," Temari said angrily as Kankuro checked the blunette's pulse.

"No," Gaara said coolly, turning to walk off.

Temari's hand locked around his shoulder.

"Do it," she snarled. "Or I'm never helping with the paperwork again!"

Gaara looked at her again, his eyes searching.

"Why is she so important?" he asked finally.

"Because she's my friend," Temari snapped back. "And she's not a ninja; she's not used to fighting!"

He waved a hand, and sand wrapped around the small girl, lifting her away from Kankuro's hands. Temari kept her eyes on his as he took her carefully in his arms, the sand falling away. Sand swirled around him, and he vanished, presumably back to the Kazekage mansion.

Temari sighed, placing a hand on her forehead.

'This is definitely not the time of month for this… I really should apologise…'

She started lifted her fan, still reflecting on her over-the-top reaction.

'No, he needed to be put in his place… even if that is technically higher than mine…'

* * *

**Please review! If you've read the previous A/N, you don't need to read this, but I'd like you to anyway, maybe the message will set in a little more.**

** I have 11 (12 now) chapters, and 49 reviews. But, I have 30 favs, and 26 alerts, which makes no sense to me, because the number is so different. Please, if you read it, take two minutes to review, even a few words, one line you liked, something you hated, something you want to see happen, something that you think needs improving. Please?**

**I don't mean to sound bitchy, but I really do want to know where I'm going wrong, or what people like, so I can keep you happy! Reviews make me smile, and I'm gonna need it with school back soon. **

**Tess**


	13. Of Romance and Hormones

**Hello readers! I'm sorry about the down-hill direction of this, but truthfully, I'm only writing it for you guys; I've lost my inspiration for it. I want to write something better, because I can see (and I'm surprised I've yet to be flamed about it) that Rini is a Mary-Sue, or becoming one. If you really do want me to continue this, please review. I will probably either re-write this, or start a completely different GaaOC story.**

**Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me, and I will continue to update this for as long as possible!**

**Tess**

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The sand fell to join that on the ground, and a rather short red-head appeared, walking swiftly forwards, a petit blunette in his arms. He ignored the looks he was getting from the few maids, and swept through the entrance. Temari had hired about ten maids to look after the mansion, insisting that it was going to get far too dusty; frankly, Gaara didn't care, he wasn't even there half the time. 

The girl was strange, she wasn't fearful, or at least determination over powered it. She'd put up a fairly good fight for someone who wasn't a ninja, if Temari had been telling the truth. She wasn't build right for a ninja anyway, she didn't have muscle, well, her legs did, but other than that she was… soft.

He could feel heat rising in his cheeks for some reason, and he was slightly bemused, he'd never felt this before; his stomach was squirming, though not with sickness, or anything like that, he just felt… uncomfortable. He paused at one of the hall mirrors, and examined his face. The heat he'd felt was still there, and pinkish patches had blossomed on his cheeks. He shrugged mentally, quashing the feeling in his stomach.

She wasn't like that pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura, who held more… natural beauty, like looking out at a forest full of life; no, she was more like the shyer one, the Hyuuga, Hinata. Hinata had been smaller, shyer, and more… cute, like you'd call a puppy cute, but a flower, or a bird, beautiful. Why was he even thinking about that?

He continued down the hall, all too aware of her proximity. She was warm, which he supposed was good, it meant she wasn't dead. She was soft too, almost no muscle, her skin was smooth where the sweat had dried, sticky where it hadn't. Her hair was long, very long, and it was in a plait. He wondered how long it would have taken to plait hair that long.

Finally, yet quickly, they reached a door, which he opened, and pushed through. Inside was a single bed, a window, and a bed-side table. There was a door leading to what he assumed was a bathroom, and a set of plain curtains shielding the room from the harsh sunlight.

He set her on the bed with no particular care, but not exactly dumping her there. He turned to leave, but as her hand hit the blanket, he noticed something. He turned back to the bed, and lifted her hand carefully. The skin across her knuckles, slightly raised and silvery, caught the light a little differently to the rest. His thumb brushed over it tentatively, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Scars," he murmured. "She's not a kunoichi… how... why would she have scars?"

He shook his head, trivial, like the comparison of her appearance. He turned, letting her hand fall back onto the bed. He left the room quickly this time, forcing all thoughts of the blunette from his mind. She was unimportant, a friend of his siblings'… he shuddered, and he had paperwork to get to.

* * *

Sound; feet moving, soft, distant voices. Images; blurred colour, movement, hands, feet, grass, trees, a snippet of white. Half-way there… Half-way where? She made herself wonder, the effort of conscious thought snapping the hold of sleep. The scents of the world reached her, the scent of dry sweat, sand, and crisp sheets. For a second, she was no one, just drifting in a sea of memory-lessness. Then a confusion of thoughts, feelings, snippets of her life, came back to her. In a split second, she was Rini Hikari again, not simply alive. 

Her first desire of the day was to cry. Cry tears she wasn't sure she had, but she, as she had for the past few days, restrained the tears, closing her eyes against the burning, and waiting for her throat to loosen. Gradually it did, and she rolled into a sitting position.

'I'm such an idiot,' she thought, covering her face with her hands. 'I overreacted, I let my emotions get the best of me…'

'**It was bound to happen, it was only a matter of time,**' Hoshiko told her softly, landing outside the window. '**You were overloaded, you shouldn't have been there in the first place.**'

'_I… I couldn't handle being at home anymore,_' Rini replied, her throat clenching as she opened the window. '_I needed to get out… and being with Temari and Kankuro is like being with my family, only… only a little different…_'

'**I know,**' Hoshiko nuzzled against her hand comfortingly. '**I know… but maybe you should tell them… I know it's harder to talk to your family about this, but maybe you should talk to someone.**'

'_I don't need them treating me like glass though,_' Rini argued, stroking the brilliantly coloured plumage. '_No, I'm better off just keeping this from them…_'

'**If you say so…**'

Hoshiko rubbed her cheek against Rini's hand one last time, then swooped back out the window, vanishing in a streak of flame. Rini sighed, and began to explore the room. The floorboards felt smooth and slick under her feet, and the curtains soft against her cheek as she closed the window again. She wandered across the room, her fingers brushing against the bedside table, then along the wall. She pushed the door open, and found a small bathroom.

She turned the cold tap, and splashed lukewarm water against her face, washing the tears, sweat and dirt away. She took a flannel and cleaned her arms, face and neck up a little, then rung it out and set it over the railing to dry. She twisted the tap until the water stopped, and dried her-self with a fluffy white towel.

"I really need a haircut," the blunette murmured to herself, undoing the plait deftly.

She ran her fingers through it once or twice, then plaited it back up quickly; during this time, she reflected on her overreaction, and Hoshiko's advice.

'I really ought to apologise,' she thought, weaving more and more of her hair into the long, rope-like style. 'But… it's not really me… anymore… besides, it's always good to know just how far you can push it.'

She pulled a hair band off her wrist and tied the end off, she glanced at herself; she was somewhat presentable. Shrugging, she turned her attention to where she was. She assumed it was the Kazekage mansion, as she knew it wasn't her home, and thought it fairly likely that Temari would have dragged her somewhere she could be watched.

This was confirmed as she opened the door, the halls, which stretched through the mansion like veins, carrying the people like blood to their destination. The rooms were so numerous, she noted as she walked the vein-like halls, they could be compared to the cells of the body.

Mentally, she shook her head, she was a medic-nin, but really, there was no need for the anatomy comparisons.

Carefully, Rini poked her head around one of the lounge room doors; there were many lounge rooms in the Kazekage mansion, but the family of the Kazekage, and the Kazekage himself, or herself, had an entire wing that was theirs alone, and thus, she wasn't too surprised to find the two elder siblings in the room.

"Hey, welcome to the world of the living, Rin," Kankuro grinned, pausing on his walk towards the door Rini had just entered through. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," the blunette replied, smiling slightly. "The beds here are amazing."

"That's good, we were getting a bit worried, you've been out for hours," Temari did indeed sound relieved.

"Hours?" Rini asked, slightly panicked. "B-but, then it must be getting-."

"Hey, hey," Kankuro interrupted soothingly. "We stopped by your place; your parents know you're here."

"You did?" Rini asked, blinking. "Thanks."

"Welcome," Temari replied in Kankuro's place, scanning Rini's petit form critically. "You need to get out of those clothes…"

"Er, yeah," Rini mumbled. "These feel icky."

"I'll be right back," Kankuro called back to the girls. "There's gotta be something that'll fit you."

"Oi! I'm not that small!" Rini shouted crossly.

Temari laughed, and waved Rini over to one of the lounges. The blunette complied, settling lazily into the cushions.

"Here you go," Kankuro tossed a pair of pants and a black t-shirt in Rini's direction. "I hope that fits…"

Rini stood and held the black shirt to her chest to measure; it was a little too big, but she supposed it would do. She rather liked the cut, and the mesh sleeves. The pants were loose, and a maroon colour.

"Thanks, these look fine," Rini grinned at Kankuro. "Where can I change."

Kankuro smirked slyly. "Here if you want."

Rini scowled, and threw the hastily balled pants in his direction. "Baka."

"You can change in the kitchen, the door locks, and there's no one in there," Temari offered.

"Thanks," Rini acknowledged. "Can I have those back?"

Kankuro threw the pants back, and Rini followed Temari to the kitchen.

* * *

"Thanks for the clothes," Rini said, closing the door behind her, her dirty clothes balled in her arms. 

The clothes were loose on her, but they were comfortable; she found it strange that clothes belonging to any of the siblings would fit her, as they both had a larger build than she.

"You're welcome," Temari replied after a moment, staring at Rini with wide eyes, then turning to Kankuro who was smirking. "… Nice choice."

There was only a small amount of sarcasm in her tone, the rest of it was shock and sincerity. Rini frowned, was there something she didn't know? She shrugged it off, and fell gracelessly into the lounge; despite the fact that she'd been sleeping (or rather, unconcious) for several hours, she felt tired, which was probably because of the chakra she'd used. She watched lazily as Kankuro left, probably intending the fix one of his puppets or some such, and murmured a goodbye in return.

Temari, since the moment Rini re-entered the room, had been planning, the clothes she now wore were Gaara's, as she herself was too tall for her clothes to fit the blunette, and Kankuro was easily taller and broader than either girl; Gaara, however, was still rather short and lithe for his age and gender, something that worked in Rini's favour clothes wise. Temari had scanned her friend critically, and come to the immediate conclusion that Rini was simply _too cute_ in Gaara's clothes for it to not be a sign. She'd argued with herself about whether to matchmake with the two, as it could cause more problems than it was worth, but eventually, it was not that part of her that won.

"Temari?" Rini asked, looking mildly confused. "You okay? You've been staring for five minutes..."

"Er, right, sorry," Temari blinked, realising that Rini was right.

Rini took her silence after that as a cue to start the conversation, however, what she began with was rather abnormal for her.

"Got a crush on anyone?"

_What?_

"No, I don't," Temari was quite startled by the question. "My brothers have warded anyone who would want to ask me for a date off; they're rather protective. Besides, I'm a kunoichi, I don't have time to date."

"I'm living proof that being a kunoichi doesn't mean that you can't date," Rini pointed out, a small smirle teasing her lips. "My mother and father were both ninja before, and while, they met."

Temari glared, "Since when do trivialities such as romance and dating interest you?"

Rini continued to smirk. "Since hormones."

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**This chapter is dedicated to Lucy-chan/Kunoichi-in-training, who's feeling kinda down right now. It's also in honor of all my faithful reviewers!**

**Okay, now, a bit of shameless self-promotion.**

**Lucy and I are planning to co-write several things, but before we do that, I'm rewriting one of her fics, and reposting it on a joint account. The account is Halftheworldaway, and the fic is Do Friendships Always Last. There are several of you who have probably drifted here from there at her recommendation, and there are probably some of you who were disappointed when she announced she was going to stop writing it. Well, take a look at the rewrite, so far, we have a total of one chapter, and one review, please make those numbers change by contributing your review!**

**Please review, I'm getting quite depressed by the lack of reviews those who have alerted (& faved) it are giving.**

**Tess**


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